TERRACE, B.C. — Residents of this B.C. town say they have warning an accident would happen on the narrow, muddy and bumpy side roads leading into town, and their fears were realized last week.

A tanker truck carrying 8,000 litres of jet fuel rolled over as it tried to get past another transport truck on Dover Road. But according to residents, that type of accident is inevitable if the roads don’t receive some attention soon.

“I question if that accident would have happened today if the road had been widened,” says resident Gary Carr. “If he had two wheels on the pavement, it may have held on.”

The rear wheels of the tanker sunk into the soft shoulder, causing the tanker to roll.

But Carr and other residents foresaw the accident months ago and sent a petition to Transportation Minister Judith Reid appealing for her to approve road improvements in the area to avoid such an incident.

Although they have yet to hear back from Reid, local transportation spokesperson Laurie Fulford tells local media, “The community group would like to have pavement. From a highways point of view we are not given the rehabilitation funds needed to do that work.”

But she’s quick to add, “That doesn’t mean they don’t deserve it.”