An intersection on the Malahat Drive that has seen 37 crashes over the past five years — 16 of which involved injuries or fatalities — is about to get an upgrade.
The province is looking for firms to design an interchange at the intersection of the Trans-Canada Highway and Shawnigan Lake Road, along with other upgrades.
The work could include eliminating the left-hand turn onto Shawnigan Lake Road, extending Whittaker Road and Holker Place just north of the interchange site, a transit hub and a pedestrian bridge crossing the highway at the intersection of Whittaker and the highway.
A Transportation Ministry spokesperson said the preliminary work includes the recent request for qualifications for a consultant to work on design options, to help the province narrow down the firms it might work with. The request for qualifications is open until Oct. 27.
The goal is to improve safety and traffic flow and support transit services on the corridor, the ministry said.
The province hopes to have a contract in place by the end of January and a detailed design completed by March 2024.
RCMP spokesman Sgt. Chris Manseau said police support any changes that improve road safety.
There was no cost estimate for the overall project, but it’s likely to be in the $100-million range given the relatively simple flyover project being built to eliminate a dangerous left-hand turn across the Patricia Bay Highway onto Keating Cross Road is now expected to cost $76.8 million.
That project has seen its cost balloon from $44 million when it was first announced in 2019.
The larger McKenzie interchange in Saanich took four years and was completed in 2020 for $96 million.
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