Work is set to begin within weeks on the Keating flyover on the Pat Bay Highway, with completion expected in the spring of 2025, the Transportation Ministry announced Monday.
FlatIron Constructors Canada — the company behind the 10-lane Port Mann Bridge over the Fraser River and the curved Park Bridge over Kicking Horse Canyon in Golden — has been awarded a $54.5-million construction contract for the Keating project.
The northbound left-hand turn across oncoming highway traffic onto Keating Cross Road has been a safety concern for years, with 10 crashes in 2021. Over the previous five years, the intersection was ranked the fourth-highest for collisions on the Saanich Peninsula.
The overpass is critical for safety, said Central Saanich Mayor Ryan Windsor. He’s seen and heard about many crashes, close calls and misjudgments over the years at the intersection. “I can’t think of a place along a highway where within one kilometre you have three at-grade left turns without any traffic signal control or condition that stops southbound traffic potentially having accidents with northbound traffic.”
Total estimated cost is $76.8-million, which includes buying land.
There will be an overpass for highway traffic turning left onto Keating Cross, a realigned southbound on-ramp to Victoria, a wider Keating Cross Road and additional sidewalks, as well as installation of bus-on-shoulder facilities to support future rapid transit on the Pat Bay Highway.
The project, which will also close highway access at East Saanich Road and Martindale Road, will be funded through a provincial contribution of $57.6 million, along with $16.7 million from the federal government through the New Building Canada Fund and $2.5 million from the District of Central Saanich.
The budget represents a sharp increase from the estimated $44.3-million cost announced in 2019, which is being attributed to the increased cost of land procurement and construction materials.
Windsor said since 2019, considerable engineering work, core sampling and analysis has been done in preparation, and he looks forward to the start of construction. “I’m not going to throw a dart at a particular day or a week over the next month or two as to when exactly that will be, but I have every confidence that this is moving forward at this point.”
Windsor said Central Saanich will work with the province on ensuring minimal disruption to residents of the peninsula while work is underway.
Any disruptions such as speed limit reductions and lane closures will be communicated in advance, said Windsor. “I expect there may be some frustration, but we’ll do as much as we can to minimize that and [ensure] that people know in advance.”
For more about the project, go to https://gov.bc.ca/keatingoverpass
For more on the South Island Transportation Strategy, go to https://gov.bc.ca/southislandtransportationstrategy
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