Man says car damaged by rock from new hospital site
Trucks carrying rocks from blast site not required to have full tailgate but face fines if loads not secure
John McFadden
Northern News Services
Friday, February 26, 2016
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
A man says he believes the "cantaloupe-sized" rock he ran over last month fell from a truck working on the new hospital.
This photo shows a truck without a tailgate while driving with a load of rocks down Highway 3 on Feb. 16, heading east toward Jackfish Lake - the same route used by trucks hauling blast rock from the new Stanton Territorial Hospital site. Department of Transportation regulations state trucks are not required to have a full tailgate when transporting rocks but that the load must be secure. - NNSL staff photo |
The man, who asked not to be named, said he was on Old Airport Road near the hospital Jan. 8 when he drove over what he thought was a piece of snow.
"That rock scraped all the way underneath my car. It damaged my pan for my transmission and it crushed my filter inside there and it damaged two control arms," he said.
Blasting is ongoing at the site for the construction of the new hospital, adjacent to the current one and trucks are hauling out big pieces of rock.
The man contacted Clark Builders, the main contractor on the hospital, and said an official told him to drop his bill off at NWT Construction, a subcontractor on the job, and they would cut him a cheque.
The man said the bill to get it fixed was $1,176.
Al Shortt, spokesperson for Clark Builders, said it is unlikely the rock fell from the back of a truck. It probably was wedged between two wheels and came loose out on the roadways.
He said he believes all the subcontractors are abiding by the law and securing their loads before leaving the site.
The city's traffic bylaw states no person shall operate a vehicle with an unsecured load that could be a hazard to other users of the highway.
Yellowknifer witnessed several trucks hauling rock from the construction site on Feb. 16. Some clearly had tailgates while others didn't. A photo of one the trucks driving without an apparent tailgate was sent to the Department of Transportation.
Steve Loutitt, director of load licensing and safety for the department, which has similar regulations to the city's, said he could not tell from the photo whether the truck's load was secure but added trucks are not required to have a full tailgate.
"Trucks like that normally have what's called a scow gate that keeps the rocks in place. From the angle (of the photo) I wasn't able to determine if it had that in place," said Loutitt. "We'd like to see people reporting anything like this to RCMP or municipal enforcement because it's difficult to investigate these types of incidents after the fact."
Loutitt said he is not aware of any similar incidents where vehicles were damaged by rocks from trucks working at the Stanton site.
However, he did say law enforcement will be advised to keep any eye out for insecure loads.
"I will certainly commit to sharing this complaint with our law enforcement partners so they are aware of it," he said.
RCMP, municipal enforcement and DOT officers are all authorized to stop and fine drivers of insecure loads, said Loutitt.
According to the department, the fine for transporting an insecure load is $200 plus a 15 per cent victim of crime surcharge which would bring the total to $230.
