Yellowhead Road and Bridge to take over highway maintenance in West Kootenay/Boundary region

Currently the contract for the Kootenay Boundary region is serviced by Emcon Services.

by Keith Powell — August 09, 2018

Requirements of the new 10-year contract that YRB is taking over includes quicker snow plowing, removing ruts and potholes from compact snow and increased patrols before and during a winter storm events. — Photo courtesy YRB

By all indications, there will be a new highway maintenance contractor looking after the roads and highways of the West Kootenay/Boundary area come October 2018. The area is known as Service Area #9 by the BC Ministry of Highways.

Currently the contract for the Kootenay Boundary region is serviced by Emcon Services. The $10.67 million contract expires on September 30, 2018. The service area includes all of the Boundary region (Grand Forks and Christina Lake) plus the Greater Trail region and the Castlegar area.

According to West Kootenay media reports the BC Ministry of Transportation has stated that their preferred proponent for the next contract is Yellowhead Road and Bridge (YRB), who also is the current contractor for the neighbouring Central Kootenay region that encompasses Nelson, Kaslo, Creston, the Slocan Valley, and Arrow Lakes.

Here’s a list of the current Kootenay highway maintenance contracts:

Kootenay Boundary – Emcon Services Inc. $10,672,662 – Expires September 30, 2018 (YRB takes over this contract on October 1, 2018)

Central Kootenay – Yellowhead Road and Bridge (Kootenay) Ltd $16,167,159 — Expires May 31, 2019

East Kootenay – Mainroad East Kootenay Contracting LP $16,668,00 – Expires August 31, 2023

Selkirk (Golden/Revelstoke) — Emcon Services Inc. $9,740,115 — Expires October 31, 2018

About YRB:

Yellowhead Road & Bridge (Kootenay) Ltd. was formed in 2004 and submitted a proposal to the Ministry of Transportation and Highways (MOT) in response to a Request for Proposal to perform highway and bridge maintenance in the Central Kootenay Contract Area (Service Area #10). Our proposal was accepted and the company commenced maintenance of this contract area on June 02, 2004. The contract was extended in 2012, and will expire on May 30, 2019.

As with all other YRB companies, Yellowhead Road & Bridge (Kootenay) Ltd. is 100% employee-owned. All the employee-owners take great pride in the work they do maintaining highways and bridges in the locale where they and their families live.

The Central Kootenay Contract Area contains the City of Nelson and the main towns of Creston, Salmo, Kaslo, New Denver and Nakusp, as well as the communities and settlements of Lardeau, Meadow Creek, and the North Shore and East Shore of Kootenay Lake. YRB has maintenance establishments in Nelson, Salmo, Creston, Crawford Bay, Winlaw, Kaslo, Lardeau, New Denver, Nakusp and Edgewood. The contract area boundaries are generally the areas serviced by the Southern Trans Provincial Highway 3, from the Champion Lakes Intersect west of Salmo, through to Kitchener, east of Creston; by Highway 3A from the Brilliant Dam through the City of Nelson to Balfour and the east shore of the Kootenay Lake from Crawford Bay to Creston; by Highway 31 from Balfour through Kaslo, Lardeau and up to Gerrard; by Highway 6 from the summit of the Monashee Pass, east of Lumby, through Needles/Fauquier, Nakusp and New Denver, Nelson and Salmo to Nelway on the U.S. border. The contract area contains approximately 1,900 kms of road, including main highways 3, 3A, 6, 21, 23, 31 and 31A, as well as 172 bridges.