British Columbia Opens High-Tech Truck Station
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British Columbia has opened a new commercial vehicle inspection station and rest area with parking for short-term and longhaul truckers on western Canada’s Highway 16.
The nearly $25 million project was jointly funded by the province’s Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, which allocated $13.9 million, and Transport Canada, which provided $10.9 million in federal funds. Highway 16, a key freight route within the Trans-Canada Highway system, stretches across western Canada from the Pacific to the Atlantic, serving as a vital artery for truckers.
The site east of the city of Terrace replaces one at the intersection of highways 16 and 37 that was decommissioned in 2019 when a roundabout replaced the intersection. Truckers will no longer face problems that arose from the old inspection station location, such as congestion, limited parking and highway access issues.
“Commercial drivers will benefit from improved lighting, accessible washrooms, short- and long-term parking for oversize vehicles, overnight truck parking, electrical refrigeration unit plug-ins, Wi-Fi and oversize-vehicle staging for interregional transport trips,” a spokesman from British Columbia’s Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure told Transport Topics.
Both local and commercial drivers, he predicted, will see a decrease in traffic disruptions and delays with the new station since it is situated farther away from the intersection of highways 16 and 37, making travel safer for all. All truck drivers, especially longhaul ones, can now stop at the rest area there, which has five short-term truck parking stalls and 10 stalls for overnight truck parking.
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The Highway 16 corridor provides a critical freight link to the Port of Prince Rupert for transporting intermodal containers across Canada. Commercial vehicles traveling in that area also move cargo, such as natural resource materials and essential goods to and from regional communities.
The station integrates transportation technology that didn’t exist at the previous one to help carriers more efficiently move goods as well as inspect their loads, which will save time, fuel and money.
The province is upgrading new commercial vehicle inspection stations with advanced technology to improve transport efficiency. One such free program is Weigh2GoBC, which enables truckers to bypass weigh scales at inspection stations. Vehicles with a registered transponder communicate with Weigh2GoBC stations upon approach.
The Weigh2GoBC program is open to all Canadian and U.S. carriers with commercial vehicles licensed for travel in British Columbia. Commercial vehicle operators are encouraged to register based on where their carrier business is located, at the government website.
“Carriers registered with Weigh2GoBC can expedite the inspection process and meet required checks without stopping. The new station near Terrace also includes advanced transportation technology, such as over-height detectors and a Tire Anomaly and Classification System that detects missing or underinflated tires,” the spokesman noted. “Automatic vehicle identification (AVI) and weigh-in-motion (WIM) technology support commercial drivers by checking the height, weight and safety credentials of registered vehicles at highway speeds without requiring them to leave the highway.”
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British Columbia has six inspection stations equipped with AVI technology and five with both AVI and WIM technology.
“Work is currently underway on Highway 16 Mount Robson and Highway 5A north of Merritt to install WIM and AVI technology, improving goods movement and enhancing commercial vehicle safety on these key trade routes,” the spokesman said.
The province’s commercial vehicle inspectors examine 25,000 truck inspections annually and issue tickets for violations. They also remove unsafe vehicles from British Columbia’s roadways.
“This new inspection station means commercial transport operators now have a clean and safe place to rest, and people in the northern region can get the goods and supplies they need. It means safer roads for everyone,” Rob Fleming, the province’s transportation and infrastructure minister, said recently when announcing its June opening.
Dave Earle, president and CEO of the British Columbia Trucking Association, welcomed the new Terrace area inspection station. “This means carriers and drivers operating along this busy route will have the opportunity to access advanced technology to ensure their loads are secure, and it serves as a much-needed rest area,” Earle said.
Weigh2GoBC Inspection Stations
