British ColumbiaA Peace River municipality says the highway linking communities in the region has become dangerous to drive. District of Hudson’s Hope mayor Travous Quibell says Highway 29 needs further maintenance from the province, a roadway he feels is a safety risk on multiple fronts Sections of the highway need further maintenance, according to northeast B.C. mayor Tom Summer · CBC News · Posted: Nov 24, 2025 7:16 PM EST | Last Updated: 7 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 3 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.The Halfway Hill on Highway 29. The hill in northeast B.C. is a dangerous section to drive, especially in winter, says Hudson’s Hope Mayor Travous Quibell. (Tom Summer/CBC)A Peace River municipality says a highway linking communities in the northeast B.C. region has become dangerous to drive. District of Hudson’s Hope Mayor Travous Quibell says Highway 29 needs further maintenance from the province, saying the roadway is a safety risk on multiple fronts. “The highway itself is dangerous to pass, especially in the winter. And we’re into the winter now. And it’s dangerous because we are very much entertaining the possibility we may lose that highway,” Quibell said. The district has concerns about two areas — winding roads at Bear Flat and the possibility of losing Halfway Hill to a washout. “If that road were to fail, we lose essentially our arterial highway between Hudson’s Hope and the rest of the Peace Region.” A narrow section of Halfway Hill. The sliding road base has left a space of roughly one and a half lanes, with heavy industrial traffic needing to slow to 30 kilometres per hour on either side. (Tom Summer/CBC)Bear Flat is a section of the Peace River valley, located approximately 15 kilometres west of Fort St. John. Halfway Hill is only another 12 kilometres west from Bear Flat. Quibell says the hill has been shifting and sinking for many years, with the road narrowing to roughly one and a half lanes. The hill has been built back up with patches and layers of gravel, a method he says doesn’t address the root issue. “The road base is moving. It’s typically sliding down the hill. We’re losing the edge of the road in a number of locations,” he said.The route is used heavily by oil and gas industry workers. Quibell says industry players have raised concerns over the highway’s condition. Oilfield workers travel from Hudson’s Hope to Fort St. John daily. A road failure could have serious consequences for his residents, says Quibell — noting that B.C. Ambulance vehicles travel on Highway 29 when the town’s medical clinic goes on diversion, relying on emergency rooms in Fort St. John or Chetwynd.”An ambulance ride for a member of my community that takes an hour now becomes three hours,” Quibell said. District Coun. Tashana Winnicky agrees there’s a real possibility of a washout. “There is material that’s washing out underneath the road, and they’ve just been kind of putting material on top to fill it,” she said.”But we don’t know how much material has been lost underneath it.”The winding roads near Bear Flat. Locally known as the “switchbacks,” the section is another narrow area of Highway 29, with no passing lane. (Tom Summer/CBC)The Ministry of Transportation says its actively investigating issues with Highway 29 and is working with a geotechnical team on long-term solutions. The ministry also said it’s reaching out to the District of Hudson’s Hope to discuss officials’ concerns. A spokesperson added that work to rehabilitate the Halfway Hill stretch was completed this past fall. The work included ditching and culvert maintenance to improve the road surface and drainage.Other measures included signage, barriers, and reduced speed zones, says the ministry. ABOUT THE AUTHORTom Summer is a reporter for CBC News in Fort St. John. Born and raised in the Peace Country, he previously reported for the Alaska Highway News, covering community issues, courts, municipal politics, and Site C, while travelling across Northeast B.C. working on the traditional territory of Treaty 8 First Nations. You can reach him at tom.summer@cbc.ca
Highway 29 in northeast B.C. becoming a danger, says Hudson’s Hope mayor
