Accident on Hwy 12

This morning, while sitting at the kitchen table, I heard one of the local Highway guys (I won't mention names) call on the radio that he was just in an accident.  He said he was bleeding and had banged his head, and that he was a bit trapped in the gravel truck.  I instantly recognized his voice and knew who it was.

He said his location "the Lytton side of the Big Slide" (that's about 5 minutes from our house) and I rushed for the door.  Hubby was throwing wood up on the deck and I hollered at him that (Name) was in an accident down at the Big Slide and that he was hurt.  Hubby went rushing for the truck and off he went.  We both know the guy quite well and our families have known each other for years, small town thing.

Hubby came back in about 20 minutes and said that (Name) was okay and there was another guy that had stopped and was with him.  Thank goodness!

About 1/2 an hour later I had to go to town to do a computer job, I grabbed my camera and headed out the door.  The truck was still there and no one was around.  Here's a couple of the pics.

The driver was heading into Lillooet.

Just around this corner is the Big Slide... sorta sends chills up my spine!

We have no idea what the cause of the accident was, maybe the road was that slick this morning, the temperature was well below freezing.  I'm just grateful that he wasn't right in the Slide because it would have been a lot worse.

Lucky to be alive

I think only but for the grace of God Dallas survived this. If you're a regular reader you know about the "Big Slide." It's a narrow stretch of Highway 12 you drive through on the way out to my place.

Dallas called this morning and asked me if I needed anything because she was coming out. When she opened the door half an hour later the first thing she said was "Here's something for you to blog" and then she burst into tears. There were shards of glass on her purse and I pretty well knew what happened before she said anything more.

Here's the windshield of her car. The rock bounced right off the windshield!

A picture from the inside. The rearview mirror has been knocked to the floor.

And this is glass on her driver's seat and console.

There's even glass on some clothes in a laundry basket in the back seat! She told me that glass was flying everywhere, how she managed to keep the car on the road is nothing short of a miracle. When oh when is the government going to fix this!? My daughter and my future grandchild could have been killed today! It makes my blood boil when I hear all about the road construction going on in BC just to add more lanes, or straighten the highway out... how about a deadly stretch of road that when each time you drive through it you risked being killed from falling rock?

You win some...you lose some

Tonight was the "meeting" about the Big Slide. Yes I guess you could call it a meeting because that's basically what we all did: meet. The room was so overcrowded people were stepping in and immediately leaving. There were no chairs set out for anyone, standing room only. All four walls had easels set up with posters, some of them set up in the centre of the room, this left very little room for people. I never did get to see all the posters because of the crowd. This open house type meeting was not a good idea. We did not want this and whoever was responsible for this (I heard several people) should not be involved ...at all or ever again. The community wanted to be heard...by people that were supposed to help, or at least listen. This meeting should have been set up in the gym, should have had chairs, and should have been a public forum, not a "lets meet your neighbour who happens to drive through the Big Slide" event.

From what I gathered at the meeting it all boils down to money. Money is what we need to fix the Big Slide. We should have skipped talking to everybody except for the Minister. So I guess it boils down to sending letters, postcards, petitions, to him. Although I'm sure the people who were there will carry our message because at times I even felt sorry for them, this was the last half hour when they were cornered and the community finally had a chance to speak.
I seldom, if ever, do a post without pictures, but tonight I was in such a hurry I forgot my camera. I really wish I would have brought it because I was shocked at the amount of people who turned out for the meeting. A meeting set for 4:00-6:00 PM, a time when most people would be eating dinner with their family. The meeting would have been much better if it were scheduled on the weekend, I wonder how many people took time off work to attend? I almost feel as if this meeting were set up to fail. I think they think we will all go home and say "well that was a joke" and forget all about this. We can't do that, you know that, and I know that...heck we all know that.

The Big Slide...again

A sight becoming more and more common as less and less is done Our excitement of yesterday was jumping in my car and rushing down to the Big Slide. Hearing there was an accident, and me so passionate on getting this dangerous stretch of road fixed, I couldn't resist grabbing my camera and hustling down there. I said a quick prayer for whomever had driven off, before turning the corner and seeing an ambulance, RCMP, Tribal Police, and the Rescue Squad. My heart sank as I knew they had called the Fisheries to put a boat in the water, the driver was possibly in the Fraser River, certain death anytime of year. I approached a guy standing at the edge, a nervous look on his face, he feared it was a buddy from Lytton. Within a few minutes a Tribal Police officer came up to us and she said the man had been located, in Lytton, about a 1/2 hour away. A sigh of relief from all. Apparently the man had climbed out of the wreck and hitched a ride. He called his girlfriend, who lived in Cache Creek, and told her he was okay and the message was relayed from there. Lucky guy, not many survive the Big Slide...a few "ifs" and he wouldn't have made it. I am amazed this man was not only able to survive the rollover of the steep embankment but he was able to crawl to the top, human instincts can be very powerful.

The truck is out of view, it went over a second embankment and is hooked up in a tree. A member of the Lillooet Rescue Squad risks his life. Clicking on the picture will bring up a larger image and you can see the ropes where they repelled down.

Cleaning up Read two previous posts regarding the Big Slide. The Big Slide Hit! In the Big Slide There is a meeting set for February 26th 4:00-6:00 PM at the Rec Centre in Lillooet. Speak your mind about this stretch of road. Tell me your story. Leave me a comment and I will take it with me. Something needs to be done, please do your part. If you would like to email your comment or story please send to LillooetBigSlide@hotmail.com

The Big Slide

Lillooet side of the Big Slide.

A few posts ago I was talking about the "Big Slide," less commonly known as "Texas Creek Slide." The slide is located about 15 kilometres south of Lillooet on Highway 12. This is one of the worst stretches of road in all of British Columbia, and has had very little change in over 100 years! With each newly elected government there's been a lot of promises but only minor fixes have been applied, and lots of money spent on "studies." These studies have told us what cannot be done, and have yet to come up with a viable solution. When do the studies stop and the construction begin? My lifetime, my children's lifetime, another 100 years? How many people will die on this appalling stretch of road in that time?
A few days ago, for the first time ever, I decided to stop and take some pictures. I felt like a tourist standing there snapping away with my camera; many times I've driven through and they are standing there taking pictures of the Fraser River. Yikes...not a good place to stop!
While driving through on the evening of January 9th, my SUV was hit. The following morning the slide was closed, not one, but two slides, side by side, had come down. Over a five day period, while the slide was closed, Interior Roads removed over 3500 cubic metres of material...let me put that into perspective; here is a picture of one cubic metre of concrete, times that by thirty-five HUNDRED! A typical gravel truck holds 9 cubic metres, so just under 400 truck loads was hauled away. Now I could have very well been under that amount of rock with my son or blasted over the side to our certain death.......
I take my chances every single time I drive through, even just going to the grocery store. There are a couple of alternative routes I could drive around, the closest; Fountain Valley Road, adds approximately 40 minutes (60 minutes total) to my trip into town (one way) as well as the beginning of this road, for approximately 3 kilometres, is so flippin' narrow two vehicles cannot pass, and during this time of year I have had my doors sealed shut with mud from the road. There is also an Indian Reserve on the far end of the road and they do not take kindly to the increased traffic. The second route; Lytton/Cache Creek, is about 2.5 hours one way, need I say more?
The picture below was not taken by me, it is a picture of the slide the day it was closed (January 10), yes there really is a road under all that gravel and rock!

Nasty picture of the "Big Slide"...one of the bad days. (Time is incorrect, it should be AM)
(Picture above not taken by me, all the pictures below were.)

The exact area 16 days later

The day I stopped and took pictures was just a typical day; small rocks on the road, and large and small crashing down as I was standing there. Something we put up with daily around this time of year. Some days I drive through and the rocks are massive...other days not so bad. The scariest is when I can see the rocks bouncing on the road in front of me, I think "do I speed up?" or "slow down?" Nope, I just hope to time it right and pray they all miss me. I have had to turn around and simply go home, whatever I'm going to town for can wait...no matter how important.
The School district does not want their buses and drivers from Lillooet to drive through on a daily basis although school buses full of children do occasionally travel through on field trips. This is the reason my daughter attends school in Lytton, a town farther away in the opposite direction, yet the School district will pay me to drive her through twice a day (which means I would have to drive through four times a day) to the other side where a bus sits and waits. I refuse to do it, especially with my 3 year old in the car...I can't believe the school would even consider I would! I am thankful and very grateful the district extended the Lytton bus route to our driveway.
There is a town meeting planned February 26 4:00 PM at the Rec Centre where we would like some answers to questions...questions that have been asked over and over, but have been mainly unanswered or ignored...or in typical political fashion "danced around." Last year a 62 page, 1,680 signature petition was sent to various ministers and government officials...yet, once again, nothing. I plan on attending this upcoming meeting, if you have ever driven on this road, heard about it, or have a story to tell about it...please leave a comment, I plan on taking them to the meeting.

Click on any picture for a larger image.

	This is as far as I would walk in because the rocks were constantly coming down as I was standing there and I feared for my safety. I watched a few of them hit the road and literally bounce over the guardrail, and you can see from the picture this happens often. Note the condition of the guardrail...it's less than a year old!
	The chain link fence was put up a few years ago...the placement of the fence is one of the least active areas of the slide. The short time I was there the highways gravel truck (seen on the corner) passed through more than once, and this is great for keeping the road clear, but does nothing for the rocks that are continually falling, hitting everything from small cars to large trucks. I shudder to think how the spouses of the drivers feel each time they go off to work. I want to send a big thank you to all you guys who maintain the road with the limited resources you have!
	Yes the view is spectacular...but the drop is deadly! Over the years the Slide seems to be getting worse and one local has been quoted as saying; "The Big Slide is talking to us...and it's time we listened."

Your opinion is important! If you can't make the meeting on February 26 4:00 PM at the Rec Centre I can take your opinion with me. At any moment the Big Slide can come down, please remember this the next time you or one of your family members drives through. Please post a comment.

Update: Check out Dallas' car and see what happened to her windshield! Click here.

Happy Birthday

Okay it was a harrowing trip back home today. I live about a 1/2 hour from town and have to drive through, what we call "The Big Slide," usually I'm okay with it. But today I had a very queasy feeling as I approached it. On my way into it I said to Jevan and to myself "Happy Birthday Dad, say a prayer for me." I got about halfway through and, lo and behold, a highways truck was coming towards me clearing the rocks. My Dad, who would have turned 65 today, worked for the highways for over 30 years before he died. I just knew at that moment he was riding with me as I went through...funny thing is when I stopped to let the highways truck pass, on this narrow road, I waited for about 5 seconds. As I started again in less than 20 feet a rock hit me, and it hit me hard! Even Jevan hollered "whoa Mama a big bang!" I told him to duck his head and just kept on going. When I arrived home I got out to inspect the damage, the rock had taken out the trim and a few notches along the back door on the driver's side, I look at this as being very lucky because if I wouldn't have stopped for the truck, the rock most likely would have come down right through my windshield. Close call? or was it fate? I guess one never knows...
On that note I'd like to wish my Dad a great big Happy Birthday, I miss you, I love you...and I'll be alright in the morning Kid :)

Picture taken Jan 1, 2000,
only two short months before Dad died.