Emil Anderson Maintenance is assuming highway maintenance for Service Area 20, the Robson area, located in north-central British Columbia at the crossroads of the Trans-Canada/Yellowhead Highway 16 and the Yellowhead Highway 5.
This highway maintenance contract was awarded following a request for proposals that was posted to BC Bid from Feb. 9 to April 7, 2021. It comes into effect Sept. 1, 2021, and has a standard term of 10 years with an option for a three-year extension.
Emil Anderson Maintenance is also the current highway maintenance contractor for Service Area 7 – Fraser Valley, and Service Area 26 – Skeena.
The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure’s maintenance contracts for all service areas require high standards and a proactive approach when a severe weather event occurs, including:
- frequent communication with the public about rapidly changing road conditions during severe weather events and other incidents affecting travel on B.C. roads,
- returning Class A highways to bare pavement within 24 hours of a winter weather event, at -9 C or warmer,
- patrols every 90 minutes on a Class A highway during a winter storm, and
- patrols every four hours when a weather event is forecast.
The ministry is working closely with all private contractors and WorkSafeBC to ensure health and safety are maintained for all workers throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
Private contractors maintain nearly 47,000 kilometres of road and 2,800 bridges in some of the most challenging terrain in Canada. Crews apply 750,000 tonnes of winter abrasives and 100,000 tonnes of salt to over 1.2 million kilometres of highways annually throughout B.C.
The value of these 28 highway maintenance agreements is approximately $420 million annually.
