Kicking Horse project implementing traffic changes

GOLDEN, B.C. — A new traffic management plan will go into effect this fall as work on B.C.’s Kicking Horse Canyon Project – Phase 4 continues. Motorists travelling along the Trans-Canada Highway near Golden will be impacted.

“The final phase of the Kicking Horse Canyon Project is complex,” stated officials in a press release. “Traffic disruptions and full highway closures during certain times are necessary to safely carry out the heavy excavation and construction required. Extended multi-day closures, like those in spring 2021, will take place this fall.”

Officials added the traffic management strategy is designed to minimize and mitigate traffic disruptions while allowing the work to proceed safely and on schedule.

The following changes will be made:

Until Sept. 15: daytime travel through the canyon will continue to be uninterrupted with rare exceptions. Evening half-hour stoppages due to single-lane alternating traffic and overnight closures will continue. During any overnight closures, Trans-Canada Highway traffic will be diverted to the alternative route of highways 93 and 95 through Radium Hot Springs.
Sept. 15: daytime stoppages of up to half an hour due to single-lane alternating traffic will be added between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.
Sept. 20 (noon) to Dec. 1 (6 a.m.): Kicking Horse Canyon Constructors will implement a multi-day, 24-hour, extended closure of the Trans-Canada Highway. Through traffic on Highway 1 between Golden to Castle Junction will be routed via highways 93 and 95, which will add up to 1.5 hours of travel time. Roadside signs will provide advance notification of the closure. Alternative routes will have signs.

Exceptions to extended road closures include:

Sept. 25 to 26: the multi-day 24-hour closure is suspended, but shorter-duration stoppages and overnight closures may apply.
Thanksgiving holiday long weekend: the highway will be fully open day and night.
A limited-access pass system established to allow local commuters and school buses to be escorted through the construction zone during two brief windows daily is now at or very near capacity. Information on the pass system is posted on the project website.