Following a Kiewit worker error that almost led to a serious multi-vehicle traffic accident, Valleycliffe resident Kirsten Andrews said she's afraid to drive the Sea to Sky Highway because Kiewit traffic management refused to update her on how they've addressed the problem.
On July 19, Andrews, her husband and their 18-month-old daughter were driving to Vancouver International Airport at around 5 a.m. when they, along with several other cars and trucks, were stopped by a flagger just north of Lions Bay. After a wait of a few minutes, the worker allowed the vehicles to advance along a portion of the highway narrowed to a single-lane. Just before a blind bend in the road they were met by oncoming traffic in the same lane, said Andrews.
"Fortunately, the only thing we collided with were several pylons dividing the highway," she said. "Both vehicles in our lane, in front and behind us had their wits about them as well and pulled into the other lane. The [transport] truck [behind us] stopped less than two feet from our bumper. It wasn't carrying a load. The oncoming vehicles [...] hugged the rock on their side of the road and came to an abrupt stop."
It took three days and seven calls to Kiewit and other calls to the Ministry of Transportation before Kiewit traffic manager Corey Johnson responded, said Andrews. Andrews said Johnson told her it wasn't the first time an incident like this occurred and the situation would be investigated. He also said Kiewit took safety seriously and the flagger responsible would be reprimanded, according to Andrews.
"I said 'Do we find out what happens? Will anybody have anything to share with me after this?'" said Andrews. "[Johnson] said 'No, that's it.' So I thought: 'how do I know anything gets done, really?'"
Andrews said she was further frustrated when transport ministry staff member Dan Mayberry reiterated Johnson's statement that Kiewit is responsible for an internal investigation.
"I think [the ministry] has to be open and transparent," she said. "The ministry can't just say 'We're awarding this contract to a private company and they have their own HR practices and therefore they can do whatever they want.' I think that the ministry needs to be responsible to the community as well."
Calls to Sea-to-Sky Highway Improvement Project representatives, who respond to media questions on behalf of Kiewit, resulted in a call from Ministry of Transportation communications officer Jeff Knight. He said he was unable to get information on the specific incident but added "safety is the ministry's top priority, and I know that the project team follows up on all inquiries and any safety concerns expressed by the public."Knight said there are various levels involved in an investigation. The contractor does its own review, an undisclosed independent individual checks the review, and finally the ministry holds a quality management audit of the independent review.
"The ministry will be calling this person back to let them know what has been done to ensure a similar incident does not happen again and to reassure them that the construction zone is safe to travel through," said Knight. "Thousands of vehicles have travelled through the Sea-to-Sky Highway construction zones safely.This incident was an exception that the Sea-to-Sky project team takes very seriously."
Andrews said that based on the numerous safety signs along the highway - like those stating "My Daddy works here, slow down" - she believes Kiewit holds safety as a top priority. But she'd like assurances that flagger training is adequate.
"Are they training people sufficiently?" she asked. "Because this would indicate to me they're not."
According to the Ministry of Transportation website, following a 1997 ministry survey on worker safety and traffic control measures it was determined that provincial standards needed to increase. The ministry found candidates from industry, labour, training institutions and government to form a training and standards review committee.
In 2002 the ministry released training manuals for both instructors and participants representing the expected minimum standard of training for Traffic Control Persons (TCPs), or flaggers, in British Columbia.
The BC Safety Network non-profit group develops courses and trains the flaggers, added Knight.
