Whereas rural community roads are managed by the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, who oversee the maintenance, service and safety standards and there is continued concern regarding the state of roads in rural communities including poor road surfaces and drainage; And whereas the provincial government periodically makes economic investment announcements and it is understood that the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure may require assessment of impacts to transportation infrastructure resulting from proposed development, and which may direct improvements to transportation infrastructure resulting from proposed development: Therefore it be resolved that UBCM request that the Province direct enhanced investment into rural road network improvements in areas where provincial economic investments are made.
Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure Maintaining BCs vast network of rural highways and side roads is a priority for the Ministry. We recognize that rural roads provide a critical lifeline to rural and remote communities, including many BC First Nations and Indigenous communities. The Ministry completes road surface condition analysis on main highway corridors annually and side roads semi-annually to help prioritize road surface rehabilitation in the province. We support this work with dedicated annual funding. This fiscal year, the Ministry will spend an estimated 176 million on side road improvements. This is an increase of approximately 70 since 201920 when the budget was 104M. This funds side road resurfacing projects as well as road repairs and stabilization, surface gravelling, culvert replacements, ditching, drainage improvements, brushing, shouldering, guardrail replacements, paint and durable pavement markings. The Ministrys Development Services staff continue to work with developers, local governments and community groups to ensure development-related impacts to the highway network are identified and improvements are completed where required.