Next week, a fall brushing program will begin on sections of the Sunshine Coast Highway in Roberts Creek, causing intermittent delays. Residents are advised to use Lower Road when possible.
From Nov. 4 to Nov. 15, Tyler Lambert, the manager of operations for Capilano Highway Services, said they will be doing a “fairly heavy fall brushing program” on both sides of the highway between Roberts Creek Road and Lower Road. Work is scheduled from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Lambert said he suspects they will be finished earlier unless crews run into particularly rough weather.
He said the work involves pushing back limbs and cutting off branches, which is generally done at this time of year once the leaves have fallen, making it easier to see what they’re doing.
While no “real” highway closures are a part of the project, Lambert said work-safe regulations require crews to close the highway when taking down larger limbs as no vehicle can go within the mower’s range.
He said these intermittent delays could last up to 20 minutes, and that crews will alternate single-lane traffic most of the time.
“The messaging to the public is, if you just use Lower Road and Roberts Creek Road for this quick little program, you won't experience any delays at all,” Lambert said.
According to Lambert, this scale of brushwork has been needed in this highway corridor for more than a decade and hasn't been done for at least 15 years. He said the work may look “kind of nasty” at first, but after crews finish and clean up, the area will “green up” quickly.
“It's finally time to do it, and it'll open up the highway and make everything safer for everybody,” he said.
Jordan Copp is the Coast Reporter’s civic and Indigenous affairs reporter. This reporting beat is made possible by the Local Journalism Initiative.
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