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May 01, 2020 - 4:14 PM
Construction on the $260 million worth improvement planned for the Trans-Canada Highway in the Chase area should begin in September.
Drivers along Highway 1 in Chase can expect delays once crews begin work in September on the 3.3 kilometre stretch of Highway 1 that will widen the roadway to four lanes and include a centre meridian, according to a Ministry of Transportation media release.
The work is expected to wrap up in the fall of 2022.
The project has a budget of $260.3 million, with $12.1 million coming from the federal government under the Provincial-Territorial Infrastructure Component of the New Building Canada Fund. The current budget is $61.1 million dollars higher than original estimates in 2015 due to engineering investigations, consultations with local First Nations and the Village of Chase, as well as an increase in labour costs and a “hot construction market," the ministry said.
As part of the construction, a pedestrian pathway will be installed. The pathway will follow the natural topography of the area, and go beneath Highway 1 at one location.
The project will also see at-grade protected T-intersections at both Chase Creek Road and Shuswap Avenue, which is described on the Transportation B.C. website as a safer alternative to traditional T-intersections.
“With a protected T intersection, you only have to worry about one direction of travel at a time. When you turn left off the highway, you turn into a protected lane, where you can wait until there's a gap in oncoming traffic, and it's safe to turn,” the website reads.
"It's important we keep moving forward on major projects that will spur economic recovery and help build out of this pandemic," Minister of Transportation Claire Trevena said in the release. "This project, delivered under our Community Benefits Agreement, will ensure that local workers are employed and that communities will benefit during the COVID-19 pandemic."
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