LANGLEY, B.C. (Mar. 14, 2005) — The group representing some of B.C.’s biggest carriers has offered the government a simple idea to take trucks off Hwy 1. through the Fraser Canyon: Lower rates on the alternative route.

The B.C. Trucking Association is asking Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon to drop truck tolls on the four-lane divided Coquihalla Highway in order to induce truck traffic from using the free two-lane Hwy. 1.

Citing safety concerns, BCTA recommended to the Minister of Transportation Kevin Falcon in a March 8 letter that tolls for trucks on the four-lane divided Coquihalla Highway be reduced to induce truck traffic from using the free two-lane alternative, Highway 1 though the Fraser Canyon.

BCTA has been lobbying for reduced tolls on the Coquihalla since the late 1990s when a comparative analysis on crash rates between the two highways was released.

Recently, a multi-disciplinary Fraser Canyon traffic safety committee — of which BCTA President and CEO Paul Landry and BCTA Vehicle Standards Weight and Dimensions Committee Chair Greg Mulvihill are members — conducted a similar review, which found the likelihood of a fatal crash involving a commercial truck on Hwy 1 from Hope to Spences Bridge is almost three times more as on Hwy. 5 for a similar distance.

The committee also found that large commercial trucks represent about 28 percent of traffic (40 percent in the winter) through the Fraser Canyon, while such traffic on the Coquihalla is half that amount, BCTA says.

While many trucks use the Fraser-Canyon because it represents the most direct route between their origin and destination, the BCTA says it’s equally true that some truckers use this highway as a non-tolled alternative to the Coquihalla. Depending on the final destination, trucks can expect to spend an additional 45 minutes driving Hwy. 1 versus Highway 5 between Hope and Kamloops, but choose to use the former because there is no toll, BCTA says.