Malahat safety improvements continue, 65 per cent complete

COWICHAN VALLEY, B.C. — The Province of B.C is exploring building further improvements for the Malahat corridor.

To assist with the long-term vision and improvements for the Malahat, the government has issued a request for qualifications to assist with projects that will potentially explore future corridor widening as well as safety, capacity and intersection improvements, explains a media release.

This comes after recent improvements were made to more than five kilometres of Highway 1, from Shawnigan Lake Road to Aspen Road, as four lanes opened to traffic.

The completion of this work means 65 per cent of the highway is now protected with a median barrier, the release reads.

To date, the the $34-million Malahat Village Safety Improvements that have been completed include: expanding five kilometres of highway to four lanes with wider shoulders; installing three kilometres of median barrier; providing improved and safer highway access through a frontage and backage road system with a new turnaround facility; and improved overhead lighting at intersections.

Future projects in the long-term vision for the Malahat include:

Improvements currently underway have been between near Goldstream Park West Shore Parkway and Bamberton Interchange. Scope of the current projects includes: Corridor widening for median barrier; Safety improvements; Capacity improvements; and Intersection improvements.

A future area of focus is the Goldstream park area, where steps are being taken to move people safely through the southern Malahat, the release adds. Engineering work is scheduled to start early in 2019 and will explore building an additional 1.5 kilometres of median barriers north of the West Shore Parkway to just north of Finlayson Arm Road.

“We all know that the Malahat shuts down when there are accidents, cutting the South Island off,” said Claire Trevena, minister of transportation and infrastructure, in the release.  “This is an important route and people expect their lives will not be put on hold because of a road closure. We are working expeditiously on short- and long-term solutions.”