ICBC Press Release
You’ve likely driven by Highway 6 from New Denver to Hills and noticed the widened shoulders, delineation, improved barrier and centre line rumble strips. This is one of the road improvement projects ICBC invested in last year to help make Nelson, Castlegar, Yahk, New Denver and Cascade safer for everyone.
ICBC launched the road improvement program in 1989, and since then, has invested over $100 million in projects across B.C. In 2011, ICBC invested approximately $1.3 million in projects in the Southern Interior and $6.5 million in 283 projects across the province.
“We care about people’s wellbeing and are always looking for new ways to create safer roads,” said Fiona Temple, ICBC’s director of road safety. “That’s why we work with communities to identify high-crash areas and make improvements that benefit everyone – drivers, cyclists and pedestrians. Simply put, safer drivers and roads mean fewer crashes, injuries and deaths.”
The most recent evaluation of the program found that two years following a project’s implementation, there is on average, a 20 per cent reduction in severe crashes and a 12 per cent reduction in property damage crashes. The evaluation concluded that for every dollar invested in a project, ICBC and customers save $5.60 over two years and $12.80 over five years in reduced claims costs.
“The recent road improvement projects in the West Kootenays have already proven to be a success in increasing safety,” said Bill Bennett, East Kootenay MLA. “In fact, severe crashes have reduced by 20 per cent and property damage crashes have reduced by 12 per cent since the introduction of ICBC’s road improvement program in 1989. These contributions to highway projects are very welcome by all.”
Investing in road improvements, along with educating drivers through awareness campaigns and funding enhanced police enforcement, are all part of ICBC’s commitment to help make B.C. roads safer. Over the last 22 years, ICBC’s road improvement program has evolved significantly – community investments and successful partnerships have led to award winning projects and the contributions have helped advance the knowledge of the road safety engineering industry in B.C. and across Canada. A look at the evolution of ICBC’s road improvement program can be viewed here.
All proposed road improvement projects are assessed based on their ability to make roads safer. ICBC works in partnership with municipalities and the provincial government on delivering road enhancements. ICBC also participates in engineering studies and assists communities with road safety issues in the planning of roadways and managing traffic.
Road improvement projects completed in 2011 in Nelson, Castlegar, Yahk, New Denver and Cascade: