blasted through and leaving part of a small mountain.... you are so high in the air on the bridge span..but, luckily can't even see it or know how high you are til you are on the opposite side...or conversely, you see the height of it prior to driving on it coming from the other direction...but, then you can't see it from that side either once you are driving on it.... ....
oh, look...open road.. !! a lovely little window of solitude...
there are several areas of sheer cliffs... ... always loose rocks and bits and pieces falling or rolling down. The wonder to me is that there are not more accidents and injuries with the size of some of the boulders and rocks that you often see on the sides of the road....
... huge, strong wire mesh curtains hanging from many of the mountainsides to protect from that very danger.... they stop the debris from reaching the highway... it falls harmlessly to the edge just below the mesh and is cleaned up regularly.. actually if it was safe to stop or some of those beautiful "rocks" were not so darn huge...I might stop and pick up some for my yard. They have become a whole new business in landscaping these days. The granite boulder I did buy for my side yard cost me plenty to have delivered with a truck and crane...
one of the areas now has a huge cement retaining wall.... even more effective than the mesh guards... I call it the Great Wall of B. C. .... look how the highway meanders through the beautiful mountains..... beautiful but deadly, especially in winter. There is a lot of snow in the mountains and many days it becomes impassable. They even do avalance control by blasting and bringing down huge snowy areas before an avalance can occur... to try to keep things safer...then they must do a major cleanup with trucks and machines...and ...the traffic flows once again.... it's the number one highway between provinces and the freight trucks and buses absolutely must be able to travel it. In the winter... and with the construction always happening in plenty of areas all summer....it is an obstacle course...but, a necessary one. It is getting better and better for ease of travel each time we drive it. Although, having said that... it is also busy... and busier each year. Just more people and more cars ...more summer traffic every year. On some of the long uphill climbs...if you get behind freight trucks and a convoy of motorhomes..especially the rental units?...ick...! it is bumper to bumper .... We usually try to go before school is out for the summer, but this year couldn't avoild the worst of it. Next year... I hope we can manage early June .....
8 comments:
Beautiful shots and you can just imagine what the winter must be like. Long distance truckers must be used to it - or are they? I often wonder if they appreciate the scenery they drive thru.
reminds me of going up to northern ontario where they have blasted similar pieces of mountains and hills to put the roads threw. I really have to get to B.C. soon, the pictures I see are gorgeous.
Hi Vee,
Beautiful photos and thanks for sharing.
I went through the Rockies, from Calgary through to Vancouver in the train, about 25 years ago. It was the most amazing scenery and trip.
Hugs
Carolyn
Very dramatic cliffs with straight high walls.
Dolores mentioned truckers and wondered if they appreciate all the beauty they drive past, and my sister is a long distance trucker and still takes photos of the wonders & beauty she sees.
My sister is also an artist.
Makes me think of the Amalfi Coast. Yes great feats of engineering has made it possible for us all to travel and enjoy the places we would never be able to reach. Glad you had a good time.
Good Lord! I love America! You don't do things by halves...mountain in the way? Just blast a passage through it!
Those are great shots. Makes me want to hit the road again...of course I am soon, back to the bay area...
It always makes me nervous driving through mountain areas when I see the signs warning of falling rocks. I've never seen nets or walls on the ojes here in the States.
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