The stretch of Highway 99 that passes through Squamish is a great piece of road to drive on – for practicing bull riding or inducing labour, says driver Donna Maroulis.
An average of 19,000 vehicles make trips up the Sea to Sky per day, according to provincial government statistics, and many drivers have noticed the current rough condition of the highway that cuts through Squamish from Murrin Park, by downtown Squamish and on toward Whistler.
Driver and new Squamish resident Tammy Labelle, who is is originally from Quebec, which is notorious for its rough roads, told The Chief that even she has been taken aback by the condition of the highway.
“We’re used to driving in these conditions, keeping lots of distance between the vehicle in front of us,” she said.
“We were completely caught off guard when one of the many pieces of debris came sailing into our windshield, leaving a nice chip. I’m sure there will be hundreds of windshields damaged this spring.”
Rock chip repairs are up in the Sea to Sky Corridor, according to an employee for Squamish’s Haymack Autoglass who told The Chief the company has seen about a 25 per cent increase in such windshield repairs.
Squamish driver Colleen McCartney Moberg said she’s had window-chipping rocks hit her car window in the stretch of highway near the Adventure Centre a few times this year.
“I have two large chips – one not fixable – from being hit there in the past few months. They seem to fly out of nowhere,” she told The Chief.
Highway 99 is a provincial responsibility. A spokesperson for the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure told The Chief it has been an unusually bad winter, with a number of freeze and thaw cycles, which have caused an increase in potholes.
This winter brought a total of 185 centimetres of snow to Squamish. It was one of the snowiest winters we have seen since about 1989 to 1990, according to Jason Ross of Environment Canada.
Potholes are created when water gets into the pavement, freezes and then thaws.
It is difficult to fix potholes when it is cold and wet, the Ministry spokesperson said.
“Pothole patches don’t necessarily holdup because of the challenging installation condition and can shortly be knocked out. Crews are working to fix these potholes as efficiently as possible,” the spokesperson said in an email to The Chief, adding that more permanent fixes will be made later this spring,
Potholes also aren’t unique to Highway 99 issue this year. In the Metro Vancouver area, there are 33 per cent more potholes this year versus last year, according to the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure.
And not all Squamish drivers agree conditions are that big of a deal on the Sea to Sky.
Squamish commuter Peter Poburan said he drives Highway 99 twice a day and has 35 years experience on the roads.
“Complaints come from people that have never driven winter roads or that are inexperienced,” Poburan told The Chief.
“If you are following the speed limits and taking into account the condition you will not have an issue… A couple of bad sections through Squamish, but nothing really to complain about yet.”
The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure advises drivers to report potholes to its local contractor, Miller Capilano, by calling 604-892-1010.
