The Highway 16 re-paving project between Masset and Port Clements is on schedule, says the Ministry of Transport, and should be complete by the end of the month."The weather has really been cooperative. We're making good progress," said Ministry of Transportation Skeena District Manager Randy Penner.Re-paving this section of the highway will help preserve and restore the existing surface, said the Ministry, in addition to improving safety and ride comfort.Adventure Paving of Prince Rupert, a division of YCS Holdings Ltd, has had its crews working on the 42 km stretch of highway since early May.It's laying 1.25 inches of asphalt over the existing pavement, a thickness Ministry engineers have determined will provide enough strength and smoothness to ensure the road has a long life.The ministry said its staff are on the job site to ensure the quality of the pavement meets the provincial standards and requirements."We consider a number of factors," said Mr. Penner, "A lot has to do with the condition of the existing asphalt, the traffic volumes and types of traffic."The ministry has the ability to make judgement calls based on a number of factors when it's considering asphalt thickness, he said, adding that it varies along different corridors in the region.Mr. Penner said highway on Haida Gwaii sees relatively light volumes of traffic, which means the asphalt on the islands' roads usually has a fairly long lifespan.This section of road was last paved in the late 1980s and is the only one on the islands that hasn't been repaved recently.This paving project had been on a ministry waiting list for several years. In 2007, former Skeena District Operations Manager Don Ramsay brought a regional transportation advisory committee to Haida Gwaii."We're quite excited about it and pleased we were able to get it done this year," said Mr. Penner, "I think users will be really pleased with the end result."The Ministry asks drivers to consider workers' safety by slowing down and obeying traffic control personnel when traveling through the work site.