Motorists approaching or leaving the Victoria area on the Trans-Canada Highway will have four lanes of divided highway after completion of construction announced Thursday.
Todd Stone, B.C. Transportation and Infrastructure Minister, announced the project at a ceremony at the end of Goldstream Avenue, within a stone’s throw of Trans-Canada traffic.
About two kilometres of highway, between Leigh Road and the southern border of Goldstream Provincial Park, will be upgraded.
The width of the highway will expand from three lanes — two southbound and one north — to four. The highway will also be divided with median barriers to improve safety.
“Let’s be clear here, the No. 1 reason we are moving forward with the four-lane improvements is safety,” Stone said.
“We know we can dramatically reduce the risk of collision and fatalities when we put up a median barrier.”
Design work for the project is expected to be completed by the end of next year. At that point, estimates for start and completion times and costs will be available.
With Stone at Thursday’s announcement were Langford Mayor Stew Young, Liberal MLA Don McRae and Langford Fire Chief Bob Beckett.
Young thanked Stone for supporting highway improvements and said the municipality is pleased to have been able to share costs with the province for about $5 million in recent upgrades to the Trans-Canada.
Those improvements include an improved off-ramp at the Leigh Road interchange and an acceleration lane from West Shore Parkway to the Trans-Canada. Both projects opened in late 2015.
“They [the B.C. government] recognize the importance of infrastructure to communities and you guys have delivered,” Young said to Stone.
Speaking for emergency first-responders, Beckett welcomed the news of the future widening and separation of the highway. “The median and/or concrete barrier will significantly reduce the risk of head-on collisions,” Beckett said.
“The various improvements over the years to our section of the Trans-Canada Highway has resulted in significant safety improvements,” he said.
