what was the use of the concrete circles on the side of the #1 highway through the rogers pass?

Question

They are numbered, from G.P. 1 through G.P 15, and then a name. Some of the names are Summit East, Tractor Shed, Lens, Gunners, Mannix, Generals and Twins. They are large concrete pads, with drainage around them, on pullouts beside the highway

Answer 1

Avalanche control

I saw similar pads along highway 16 in the coastal mountains. This is a gun mount. It is one of several techniques to create an explosion to cause small control avalanches so that a larger dangerous one doesn't knock out the highway. During the winter they come along with a truck, pull over, mount the gun on the platform (a relatively small artillery callibre) and will shoot at any snow build up.

I am guessing, but GP is probably Gun Platform. And you can see a lot of the names are the area of the location, but more likely, the area they are shooting at.

I can't find much on the internet. But found this one description for the Coquihalla Highway

"To control the snow build up and protect travelers, there are gun turrets along the highway at strategic intervals, round cement platforms on which guns can be mounted and shots aimed at the snow packs to bring on avalanches before they commence by themselves."

Answer 2

730 days of those 1000 days ( 73% of the time ) were democratic dominated in the oval office, the house and the senate. Yet still we have a few responding to your question blaming republicans. HEY LIBBIES, you should thank the republicans for stopping it. The near $5 trillion in added debt totally Obama and the dems would be much higher if not for the 2010 election. --- where the dems got a worst any party *** whippin in 70 years!!! After losing 60 house seats, 10 senate seats and 680 state level assembly seats. Wake the F up! Guess what.....you think the nation was ticked off then as evidence of the dem party nation wide got a good ol' fashion widening of their sphincter muscle, watch what happens 11 months from now.

Answer 3

These are the pads for the snow cannons. .During the winter, there is a tremendous build up of snow in the Rogers Pass area. ln order to prevent snowslides,which would close off the road and isolate large chunks of the country (to say nothing of paralyzing the truck industry) they mount cannon on the pads and at intervals, when the snow is beginning to pile up, they close the highway briefly and use the cannons to trigger off mini-avalanches. By controlling the snow buildup in this fashion, they prevent avalanches that could cost lives.

Answer 4

Juan_B is absolutely correct. Those are mortar platforms for firing rounds into the snowpack in areas where there is a regular, predictable issue.

They close the highway for awhile to keep everybody back and at a safe distance and then the do the duty, then pack up and re-open it.

Cheers! I hope you had a great trip!