The province says new maintenance contracts for the Sunshine Coast will ensure better highway conditions for travelers.
Capilano Highway Services Company got a 10-year contract with an optional five-year extension.
For service areas throughout the province, the new maintenance contracts require higher standards and a more proactive approach to severe weather.
Some of the biggest improvements over the last contract include provisions to return Class A highways to bare pavement within 24 hours of a winter weather event at temperatures of -9 degrees or warmer when de-icing chemical use is safe and effective.
The previous standard was 48 hours.
When a weather event is forecasted, patrol frequency is increased to four hours instead of 24 hours.
Patrol frequency is increased to every 90 minutes on Class A highways during a winter storm.
The previous standard was four hours.
Twenty-six of the 28 maintenance contracts in B.C. are being tendered and awarded in 2018 and 2019 through a staggered, open-bidding process.
Private contractors maintain nearly 47,000 kilometres of road and 2,800 bridges in some of the most challenging terrain in Canada.
Crews apply 750,000 tonnes of winter abrasives and 100,000 tonnes of salt to over 1.2 million kilometres of highways annually throughout B.C.
The value of these 28 highway maintenance agreements totals approximately $400 million annually.
