MAPLE RIDGE, B.C. – A local MLA is pushing for the paving of a gravel logging road from Maple Ridge to Pemberton to provide a second option for travel to Whistler. MLA Ken Stewart drove part of the road in a four-wheel drive vehicle, and he says paving it would create a safer alternate to the current Sea-to-Sky Highway and could ultimately create a direct link to the U.S. border once the new bridge over the Fraser River is built.

“I’ve always been a proponent of some other route up to Whistler,” Stewart tells local media. “It deserves some merit and thought.”

Many truckers using the Sea-to-Sky Highway for hauling logs are also hopeful for an alternate route.

There has been talk of converting the existing road into a safer and more user-friendly route since the late 1960s when the proposal was dubbed Sasquatch Highway.