Bridge Maintenance Not Up to Code – Forest Practices Code non-compliances in bridge inspections and maintenance

The Forest Practices Code has requirements in place to ensure that bridges along logging roads are built, maintained and removed safely and don’t cause harm to the environment or to the people using them. However, bridge maintenance problems are showing up more frequently in the Board’s recent audits.

Over half of all bridges audited by the Forest Practices Board for maintenance obligations in the past two years were not in compliance with the regulations of the Forest Practices Code. In this period alone, three audits have turned up instances of significant non-compliance in the bridge maintenance programs of licensees in British Columbia’s public forests.