Rockslide survivor calls for improved safety on Highway 1

After three boulders demolished the front end of her car, Shannon Smith is demanding the province find a way to make the stretch of highway between Revelstoke and Sicamous safer.

The area called Three Valley Gap is a notorious rockfall area and Smith has started a letter writing campaign to stress the danger drivers in the area face every time they leave town.

"We need help. We're terrified to drive out of town," she told Radio West's Sarah Penton.

She was driving behind her husband last October when the large boulders smashed into her SUV.

"He just happened to look up at the rear view mirror at one point and that's when it all happened. He got to witness the whole thing," she said.

Smith broke her back but was able to walk away from the crash with scratches, bruises, muscle and nerve damage as well.

First responders had to cut the roof off of the SUV to get Smith out of the car.

After her crash, she wrote letters to her local government and to the province, but only received what she calls a "generic" response from the province.  

Radio West spoke with Transport Minister Claire Trevena Wednesday who said they're trying to find innovative ways to improve the safety of the unstable rockface.

"We talk about fencing. We talk about netting, but we're looking at whether we can find a rock fall fence system that really would minimize the rockfall coming down that mountain," said Trevena, who didn't offer a timeline for the project other than to say the area is a top priority.

Just a day before Trevena met Revelstoke Mayor Mark McKee and Columbia River-Revelstoke MLA Doug Clovechok in April to discuss the safety of Highway 1, a large boulder fell onto the same stretch of road.

And although the Transportation Ministry said it would install mesh nets to prevent rocks falling to the road, Smith isn't convinced that nets are a long-term solution.

"Would safety netting have stopped the giant rock that fell into traffic on Tuesday, April 17, 2018? The answer is 'No,'" she writes in the letter addressed to Trevena.

Smith is encouraging residents to sign their name to a pre-written letter she's drafted or to share their experiences driving along Three Valley Gap.

With files from Radio West