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Hwy 3 crash prompts call for patience as traffic volumes expected to swell

Midway Fire Chief says the collision happened at a very tight turn known as Bishop’s Corner
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A Midway Mountie and volunteer firefighter assess the damage to a Dodge Ram that ran afoul of Highway 3’s Bishop’s Corner late Tuesday, Dec. 7. Photo: Submitted

A B.C. man was taken to hospital after the truck he was driving failed to negotiate the hairpin turn at Bishop’s Corner, a steep switchback on Highway 3, near Rock Creek.

Mike Daloise, Chief at Midway Fire and Rescue (MFR) said the westbound truck, a black four-wheel Dodge Ram with winter tires, came into collision with a concrete barrier atop the hill at around 9:50 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 7. Road conditions were normal for early December, Daloise said.

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The concrete barrier kept the truck from careening down the “long, steep slope,” he added.

The driver was able to get himself out of the truck and was later taken by ambulance to Grand Forks’ Boundary Hospital, where Daloise said he underwent observation.

Tuesday night’s collision came scarcely a week after the Regional District of Kootenay Boundary reported that Highway 3 traffic would likely surge by 525 per cent while the province rebuilds flood-damaged roads and bridges across southern B.C.

Bishop’s Corner was the site of a late October collision involving a semi-truck whose trailer fell down the hill, nearly dragging the cab that had come to rest along the concrete barrier.

In light of both collisions, Daloise is urging motorists to be patient as traffic volumes swell along Highway 3. “Please allow for extra time to arrive at your destinations,” he suggested Wednesday.


 

@ltritsch1
laurie.tritschler@grandforksgazette.ca

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laurie.tritschler@boundarycreektimes.com

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