West Vancouver- Sea to Sky MLA Joan McIntyre had the opportunity to MC another good news celebration Friday (Oct. 1) when premier Gordon Campbell joined her to honour the hundreds of employees who helped make the Sea to Sky improvement project possible.
From flag wavers to heavy machine operators to the transportation and infrastructure minister herself, everyone turned out to recognize the hard work and see their names engraved on a plaque for all to see.
"The commemorative plaque we unveil today includes the names of 2,124 people who were involved in the six years of planning, engineering, design and construction of the vastly improved Sea to Sky highway from West Vancouver to Whistler," said Campbell in front of about 100 who turned up on the sunny afternoon.
"Your dedication and commitment has resulted in a safer, more efficient highway for all British Columbians and I want to thank each of them for their contributions."
The plaque is located at Tunnel Point just north of Lions Bay and Brunswick Road. The site is visible from the highway and is accessible from the southbound lane only.
Highway improvements include 80 kilometres of new passing lanes, shoulder and centre line rumble strips, additional median barriers, wide shoulders and stronger bridges.
Campbell specifically thanked the two main partners Kiewit and Miller Capilano Maintenance Corporation, based out of Squamish.
McIntyre said throughout the entirety of the project, the workers kept traffic flowing and the work progressing, day in and day out.
"Today we're celebrating all the men and women who worked to design and build this world class, innovative and award winning piece of infrastructure," said McIntyre.
The Sea to Sky Highway Improvement Project earned national recognition , receiving the gold award for infrastructure from the Canadian Council for Public-Private partnerships.
Campbell said if the highway wa awarded recognistion, the workers should be as well.
"We decided it was time to recognize workers one of the things we want is for this to be lasting," he said. "It's the workers of British Columbia that are actually here not just on beautiful days like thisbut the really crummy days, the rotten days, the days when you really wish you weren't here.
"Within a year, this will just be the road, but remember this in 50 years, if you want to, you'll be able to drive along that road and say to your kids and your grandkids 'I did this' and you'll be able to prove it."
Campbell also announced a less obvious direct benefit from the highway was the massive drop in highway collisions where accidents are down about 50 per cent since it was opened.
Bond said the number of accidents was a catalyst to get the highway improvement going.
"Sea to Sky was in the finishing stages when I became minister but certainly as a member of government this was a high priority for all of us," she said.
"We recognized the importance in fixing a highway that had one of the highest crash records in the province."
For anyone who drove the highway before the improvements, the difference is obvious, premier Campbell included.
"I've been driving this a long time, I started to come up here to ski in Whistler in the '60s," said Campbell.
"To see the difference in the road from then until now is like night and day, and frankly, to see the difference between now and when we started this project is just phenomenal it's an engineering miracle and a miracle of teamwork."
The project employed generated more than 6000 jobs, and for the 35 employees at Squamish company Miller Capilano, work isn't over.
Miller Capilano employee Larry Paradis said their maintenance work started on August 27 2005 and they'll be maintaining the highway for the next 20 years. They take care of the summer gardening and winter plowing.
Miller capilano assistant area supervisor Bob Biln has lived in Squamish his whole and said the highway is 100 per cent better than when he was a kid.
"I remember driving the road when it was narrow, windy and dangerous now it seems like a breeze to drive," he said.
"It's really nice to be recognized and show that we did have part in this and it means a lot to us."
