Exploration of the Past, Present, and Future of British Columbia's Highways

The British Columbia road network connects communities and facilitates the movement of goods across the province and the rest of Canada. The road network forms a vital part of the pacific gateway, providing one of the primary connections between Asia and North America from docks located in Vancouver and Prince Rupert. Transportation design in BC faces several unique challenges owing to the diverse natural terrain within the province. Thousands of kilometres of infrastructure wind through steep mountainous terrain, cross large river valleys, and navigate through or around environmentally sensitive and fragile ecosystems. Past designers have had to devise innovative solutions to handle the unique situations found in BC to maintain the movement of goods and people through the country. Designers are now faced with upgrading this existing infrastructure and adapting to the new challenges facing the 21st century such as alternative project delivery models, rising sea levels, coastal erosion, soil stability, and ever increasing environmental awareness all within the context of sustainability, increasing safety, reliability, and mobility. This paper will draw attention to some of the innovative solutions and construction methods used by engineers of the past to cope with the terrain and environment of BC. As a comparison, current modern day projects will also be featured, illustrating how current technologies and methods tackle some of these same issues and constraints. Feats of engineering that were not possible in the past will be highlighted. Finally, the future of transportation projects and design in BC will be discussed, highlighting the fundamental and evolving objectives and issues designers will be faced with moving forward into the future.