VICTORIA — After analyzing the construction of 269 bridges and 59 wood-box culverts over the past three years, investigators with B.C.’s Forest Practices Board have found significant safety improvements when compared to a similar investigation from 2014.
“We set out to see whether practices had improved as a result of our last report in 2014 and we are very pleased with the findings,” said Kevin Kriese, chair of Forest Practices Board, in a statement. “We found much better results than last time, and industry, the professional associations and government deserve recognition for their efforts.”
According to the province, their investigation found compliance with all environmental protection and safety requirements to be at the mid- to-high-90 per cent level. Further, all of the bridges constructed on forest service roads by natural resource districts and major licensees are safe and sound for use.
The investigation found five per cent of the bridges inspected had “significant safety issues.”
Officials noted this was a large improvement over the 2014 investigation, which found 15 per cent of bridges had significant safety issues.
“While only five per cent of bridges had significant safety problems, these are newly constructed bridges and there is no excuse for not building them safe for use,” Kriese added. “Some operators need to improve their practices and government needs to monitor for compliance to ensure bridges are safe and sound.”
Part of the improvement was attributed to the evolution of planning and professional practice requirements. However, the board found some professionals are not recognizing or understanding the requirements for crossing assurance statements, and some forest professionals are not recognizing when the complexity of a structure requires specialized expertise. The investigation report includes recommendations to address these issues.
Bridges and wood-box culverts constructed since January 2017 in the Mackenzie, North Island-Central Coast, Sea to Sky, Selkirk and Skeena Stikine natural resource districts were included in the investigation, which took place in the summer and fall 2019.
The Forest Practices Board is B.C.’s independent watchdog for sound forest and range practices, reporting its findings and recommendations directly to the public and government. The board can investigate and report on current forestry and range issues and make recommendations for improvement to practices and legislation.
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