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Trucking thru Rossland
Submitted by judiblu on Sun, 28/06/2015 - 9:00pm
A friend recently told me about a big truck that used to park behind the Prestige from time to time. It was always meticulously tucked in against the trees taking up as little space as possible while its driver took his required rest. This past weekend that same truck lost its brakes going down the hill to Trail. The highway was closed for the better part of the day and thank God no one was hurt. There has been discussion over the years about the truck traffic on that hill and how dangerous it is in any season. There is also the noise factor sometimes starting at 130 in the morning. There are different routes that could be used I understand that would eliminate all truck traffic on that hill and through the town centre. Wouldn't that be terrific? This has been talked about as well but no action has been taken. Perhaps it may be time for local govenment to get involved, concerned citizens and even the drivers themselves. I'm sure the drivers would be all for a route that took that hill out of the equation as would anyone living anywhere close to the highway. What will it take to get some serious noise going on this issue? Town: Rossland, BC 
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This isn't the first time this issue has come up.
Going via Waneta would only add 5km to the route and avoid the hills but the 120 year old single lane bridge over the Pend Orielle would need to be replaced and the highway on the American side from the border to Northport would need to be upgraded.
Via Christina Lake goes over a higher mountain pass than driving through Rossland and the route is slightly longer.
Via Salmo over the Bombi is the same distance but goes over another mountain pass higher than Rossland and going through Trail and Fruitvale is 30km longer and just passes the problem to another small community.
Finally, Paterson/Frontier is the only border crossing in the area open 24 hours.
I grew up in Kamloops where there was a similar situation. The hill was similar in length with less radical curves. For years there were similar accidents to what we see here until finally there was a massive accident with a number of fatilities that has changed things. Unfortunatley in the Kamloops accident the bypass was in place and the truck took the wrong turn and accidently when into town. Imporved signing and awarness in the trucking industry has dealt with this. The expereince in Kamloops should hold as an example of what will happen here if we don't do as the op suggests. It clearly is just a matter of time until we have a major accident on the hill with fatalities. As I teach my kids to drive I try to remind them to look up hill threw that corner for trucks coming fast. The run away crosses the oncoming traffic lanes. That's crazy. Just a matter of time.
Yes, this is a big concern and it is an issue that has been discussed for years. The Lower Columbia Community Development Team Society (LCCDTS) has kept the issue alive by meeting with various government officials on both sides of the border. Meetings have happened with both elected officials and Ministry of Transportation officials. At one point, it looked promising that the US would make some needed (and expensive) investments in the route but then the funding fell through. The Lower Columbia Initiative Corp (the parent of the LCCDTS) is supported by all of the local governments in our area. Local government representatives from each community sit on the board along with citizen volunteers. Councillor Andy Morel is Rossland's representative.
check out www.lccdts.com and www.lcic.ca to learn more.