Hudson’s Hope mayor calls for improvements to Highway 29

HUDSON’S HOPE, B.C. — The mayor of Hudson’s Hope is calling on the province to take stronger action to improve conditions on Highway 29.

Speaking on CBC’s Daybreak North, Travous Quibell said the highway connecting Hudson’s Hope and Fort St. John has been a concern for decades, but recent conditions have heightened the risks for drivers.

At Halfway Hill, he said the road has narrowed to less than two lanes in places, creating dangerous conditions for the heavy traffic that relies on the route daily.

Quibell also pointed to heavy snowfall as an example of how quickly conditions can become hazardous. 

He noted Fort St. John saw over 300 per cent of its normal snowfall in December, leading to multiple incidents where large trucks were forced off the road.

“They don’t have a lot of options,” he said. 

“We’re talking about heavy trucks carrying a lot of weight, and when they meet at that hill and they have nowhere else to go, the ditch is their only choice.”

The mayor said the District of Hudson’s Hope has repeatedly raised concerns with the Ministry of Transportation and Transit. 

The ministry told Energeticcity.ca it has met with Quibell and funding has been allocated for highway upgrades.

Quibell noted the municipality requested a meeting with Minister Mike Farnworth and his staff at the Union of B.C. Municipalities convention but was denied. 

Since then, he said the district has followed up with local ministry staff, including the “district manager out of Fort St. John,” and sent multiple letters outlining safety concerns.

Support has also come from other levels of government, Quibell said, including Peace River North MLA Jordan Kealy and the Peace River Regional District, which has identified Highway 29 as a regional priority.

“We’d like a commitment that we’re going to get a long-term solution for the road,” he said. 

“We’ve been band-aiding it for so long that most of us can’t remember a time when that road was ever really, truly a good highway to travel on.”

Quibell said the province should focus on addressing the narrowing at Halfway Hill, improving snow clearing, adding proper shoulders and creating safe chain-up and chain-off areas for commercial trucks, something he says is lacking at several key hills along the route.

In a statement to Energeticcity.ca, the Ministry of Transportation and Transit said local ministry staff met with Quibell on November 24th, 2025, to discuss the community’s concerns.

The ministry said ditching, flume repairs and catch basin work were completed in fall 2025, with culvert maintenance and additional drainage improvements scheduled for summer 2026.

The ministry added that, following a geotechnical review, engineering and design work for stabilization improvements is planned for 2026, and confirmed funding has been allocated for all of the planned work.

Looking ahead, the mayor said he plans to continue lobbying the province alongside regional partners to ensure Highway 29 becomes a top priority.