The Coast Connection

T.D. Regehr is a professor of history at the University of Saskatchewan
and the author of The Beauharnois Scandal: A Story of Entrepreneurship
and Politics.

R.G. Harvey, a professional engineer and road builder, describes in
layperson’s language the construction of overland trails and roads in
British Columbia. He clearly explains the impact of the gold rush on the
construction of mule and wagon roads. One of his most important
contributions is his explanation of how the transcontinental railways
were allowed to use and destroy the difficult and expensive wagon road
that ran through the canyons of the Fraser and Thompson Rivers. Railway
construction obviously had priority over road building before World War
I. Harvey also has sharp words for Premier Vander Zalm and others who
criticized the cost overruns and construction practices in the building
of the Coquihalla Highway.

Road construction has always faced exceptional challenges in British
Columbia. These obstacles have been not only geographical and technical
in nature, but also political, financial, and administrative. Harvey
makes effective use of maps in discussing the various problems as well
as the solutions to them proposed by the road builders. Readers who lack
a detailed knowledge of British Columbia’s various mountain ranges and
passes may find some of the geographical descriptions difficult to
follow.

This book will appeal not only to professional road builders but also
to those with an interest in history, politics, and economics. Waterways
and railways have long intrigued Canadian historians. The Coast
Connection should extend that interest to our nation’s roads and
highways.