RELIABILITY
The major safety improvements will make the Sea-to-Sky a much safer highway, significantly reducing the number of closures and delays due to accidents. Softer curves, improved sightlines, more median barriers, rumble strips, improved intersections and the addition of 80 km of passing lanes help make the Sea–to-Sky a much more reliable highway.
With its steep mountain cliffs the Sea-to-Sky Highway has experienced slope stability issues resulting in significant closures that sometimes lasted days at a time. The Sea-to-Sky Highway Improvement Project is enhancing slope reliability using a number of slope stability techniques. Blasting for widening on the highway is much more precise that techniques used in the 50’s and 60’s when the road was first built. Modern blasting including a process called pre-shearing, leaves a much smoother final surface which is better able to withstand freeze – thaw conditions frequently encountered along the Sea-to-Sky. In addition rock bolting, hanging mesh and building larger rock catchments prevents rocks from reaching the highway. There will be regular monitoring of rock slopes and ongoing rock scaling (removing loose rock) as part of the 25-year maintenance program for the Sea-to-Sky Highway.
Debris torrents from mountain creeks and flooding rivers have created reliability problems in the past with bridges being washed out. New bridges are built higher than the old bridges. New structures will have 1.5 metre freeboard above the 200 year flood or debris torrent level. In addition they are built to withstand a 1 in 475 year earthquake.
The new multi-lane configuration of the Sea-to-Sky Highway will be easier to maintain during winter snow storms. With the old two lane configuration accidents often prevented snow ploughs from getting where they are needed. This caused snow removal issues in other areas which decreased the highways reliability. In addition wider shoulders also provide extra space for stuck or disabled vehicles allowing safe passage of maintenance and emergency equipment.
