New Pat Bay Highway overpass to open in 2025: province
The B.C. government says final designs for a new overpass along the Patricia Bay Highway on Vancouver Island are nearly complete, with the overpass expected to open in 2025.
The overpass will be located in Central Saanich at Keating Cross Road, allowing northbound traffic to turn onto the road without having to pass oncoming highway lanes.
Currently, northbound vehicles that want to turn left onto Keating Cross Road have to wait to until there's a gap in traffic from two oncoming southbound highway lanes.
The intersection was the site of 12 crashes that caused injuries between 2015 and 2019, and was also the site of one fatal crash during that time, according to the province.
The intersection of the Pat Bay Highway and Keating Cross Road is pictured: Feb. 24, 2021 (Province of B.C. / Flickr)
$76.8-MILLION PROJECT
The province says the overpass is estimated to cost $76.8 million, up from the original estimate of $44 million when the project was first announced in 2019.
Funding will be split between all three levels of government.
The District of Central Saanich is providing roughly $2.5 million, the B.C. government is contributing $57.6 million, and the federal government has promised up to $16.7 million.
"This project will help make Highway 17 safer for everyone who uses it and will help decrease congestion and improve connectivity for residents and local businesses," said B.C. Transportation Minister Rob Fleming in a statement Friday.
"The Patricia Bay Highway plays a critical role in connecting communities on the South Island to the services and goods they depend on, and I’m excited for work to get underway," he said.
The province says a project tender is expected to open this fall, with contractors bidding to complete the project.
Construction is expected to finish in spring 2025, according to the Ministry of Transportation.
OTHER FEATURES
Besides the overpass, the project includes adding a bus pull out for future rapid transit plans, a realignment of the southbound onramp from Keating Cross Road onto the highway, and construction of a new sidewalk on Keating Cross Road.
The province also plans to close access to the highway from three roads to "improve safety for all travellers."
The highway will no longer be accessible from East Saanich Road, Martindale Road and Danica Place once the project is complete.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
Powerful tornado tears across Nebraska, weather service warns of 'catastrophic' damage
Devastating tornadoes tore across parts of eastern Nebraska and northeast Texas Friday as a multi-day severe thunderstorm event ramped up in the central United States, injuring at least three people.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Trump's lawyers try to discredit testimony of prosecution's first witness in hush money trial
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.