
UPDATE 2:30 p.m.
Roads contractor AIM Roads says they are working “around the clock” to have the roads cleared in Tulameen and Coalmont, as residents of the small Similkameen communities pepper the company with complaints over a lack of snow-clearing in the area.
In a statement posted to Facebook, AIM said they are actively working on the area.
“We acknowledge we are behind and this is not the service level we wish to provide. We had fully planned to have these areas completed sooner,” AIM Roads said, adding efforts have been hampered by two graders breaking down.
“We sourced a subcontracted grader, brought in additional resources and the crews are continuing to work around the clock. We are not trying to make excuses but wanted to reach out as you deserve an honest response.”
AIM says Coalmont is now nearly complete and the grader is pushing towards the Tulameen area.
“The area is expected to be fully complete by this evening or tomorrow morning at the latest. We regret the delay and appreciate your patience,” the statement concluded.
ORIGINAL 11:30 p.m.
The small Similkameen community of Tulameen is still digging out after last weekend’s massive snowstorm, with many roads completely impassable as anger grows towards the region’s new roads contractor.
George Mapson has lived in Tulameen for more than 50 years and tells Castanet the roads within and leaving the community have never been in as bad of shape.
“People are furious… we’ve never seen the roads this bad, ever,” Mapson said, adding in years past, plows would be on the roads “as soon as the first flakes fell.”
Mapson says the road between Tulameen and Aspen Grove remains impassable and completely unplowed, “in the past, it’s been like a little mini Coquihalla,” and driveable in most winter weather.
The only other route into Tulameen, from Princeton, is just seeing its first grader on Tuesday, over three days after the snow stopped falling.
Within Tulameen itself, roads remain buried with many homes inaccessible two days before the community typically fills up with seasonal residents and tourists that flock to the area after Christmas for snowmobiling.
“From an emergency standpoint, there are a lot of older people up here, and when all the tourists come — it’s just not safe right now,” he said.
Tulameen volunteer fire chief Jody Woodward said on Facebook the roads contractor, AIM Roads, has been hampered by a broken-down grader in the area.
“At this time, AIM has limited equipment available for the work that needs to be done,” she said. “They know about the community access concerns. For now we will have to look after ourselves and each other.”
The closest weather station at the Princeton airport shows 61 cm of snow fell over the span of four days between Dec. 19 and 22, although Mapson says large dumps of snow are not unusual for the area.
He says residents have been calling AIM Roads, the RDOS and the provincial government to complain but have been getting little information. The community's Facebook group is full of residents outraged by the situation.
This is the first winter for AIM Roads, which took over from Argo last spring after winning a ten-year contract to maintain the region’s roads. Castanet has requested more information from the company. Tulameen and nearby Coalmont have a population of about 600 full-time residents.
