New Coffee Creek webcam helps you 'know before you go'
By Timothy Schafer
Highway 31 near Coffee Creek is the latest section of Kootenay highway to join the televised ranks of DriveBC’s network of real-time coverage web cameras.
Extreme weather and the congested nature of the area were the reasons the Ministry of Transportation elected to initiate a camera at that stretch of road, but anyone driving the section of road between Nelson and Kaslo would already know that.
Now people can know before they go, with the Coffee Creek stretch being one of the more regular highway closures in the winter in the West Kootenay due to the steep nature of the rock bordering the highway. The camera is not yet online.
Also making the list of 30 new web cams for the province were Highway 6 and Highway 23 near Nakusp, and Highway 23 at 50 Mile. That will bring the total of Kootenay cams to 15.
Advances in technology are allowing for webcams in mountainous, frequently traveled areas where they previously couldn’t be sited, such as Highway 23 at 50 Mile and Coffee Creek. The West Kootenay webcams are updated every 15 to 30 minutes.
The Province is adding 30 new web cameras to its DriveBC network this year to provide additional real-time coverage of highway conditions, helping motorists plan safe journeys.
This will bring the total of web images available on DriveBC to over 200.
Installation of these has begun, with site research continuing for the remainder. Priority for new web cameras is given to routes prone to extreme weather or traffic congestion, and for sites where there isn’t already a nearby webcam.
DriveBC is the Province of B.C.’s most popular website. It provides timely road condition updates, travel advisories, road closure information for provincial highways, weather information and other important links to the traveling public, to help ensure easier, safer trips.
Launched in 2005, DriveBC has received an average of 2.9 million visits per month in 2010.
- View current webcam images on DriveBC at www.drivebc.ca
- Get DriveBC updates on Twitter at www.twitter.com/drivebc
twitter.com/#!/TheNelsonDaily
Locations of new DriveBC webcams
Vancouver Coast and Mountains
- Highway 1 near Bridal Falls
- Highway 1 near Hunter Creek
- Highway 1 at McCallum Road (existing webcam replaced with new four-way view)
- Highway 7 at Highway 11 in Maple Ridge
- Highway 7 at Evergreen in Agassiz
Thompson-Okanagan
- Highway 1 near Kamloops
- Highway 3 near Keremeos
- Highway 3 Eholt Summit between Greenwood and Grand Forks
- Highway 5 near Blue River
- Highway 6 in Monashee Pass east of Vernon
- Highway 33 at McCulloch
- Highway 97 near Falkland
- Highway 97C Pennask Summit
Northern B.C.
- Highway 16 near Crescent Spur between Prince George and McBride
- Highway 27 near Fort St. James
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