Interesting - Yes for me but there's nothing there really other than the dam and the lake.

Widely used - Very unlikely. For anybody currently using 5 to Kamloops and 97 to the Okanagan would continue using that - a lot less time and there's services. Northern Alberta to West Kootenays - just can't see that much demand.

And there would be no commercial traffic.

You might have a slightly better case if you tried to justify building a road from Valemount to Donald but not much.

What I would see as more probable would be a rail line from the CP at Beavermouth to the CN at Valemount with CP getting trackage rights on CN to Prince Rupert but still that's a low probability in the near future. You could also build a connection from the BNSF at Eureka, Montana to the CP near Jaffray, BC and give BNSF haulage rights from there to Prince Rupert as well.

Even then, I wonder if there would be the demand. Currently the CN option is to go through Edmonton and use the Yellowhead Pass.

On the same line of thinking as extending Hwy 23 to Hwy 5, I’ve wondered if there would be the appetite or demand to extend Hwy 9 from Harrison Hot Springs to Hwy 99 near Pemberton?

Unsure if mentioned: the Alaska Highway is getting straightened out and widened at Taylor Hill just south of Ft St John. Won't be nearly as fun anymore ha ha...

http://www.newsroom.gov.bc.ca/2013/0...ylor-hill.html

Seems like the Turtle Valley alignment of Hwy 1 is officially dead:

RFQ 7007 Highway 1 Squilax Four-Laning and Interchange

The purpose of this Request for Qualifications (RFQ) is to short-list three (3) Qualified Respondents for full proposal submissions in response to a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the Highway 1 Squilax to Little River Road Four-Laning Project. The Province's intent is to establish a consulting services contract with the successful proponent.


This section of Highway 1 is located between Chase and Sorrento, in the vicinity of the Squilax Bridge, approximately LKI 2077 km 36.6-41.6.

The Project involves four-laning approximately 5 km of Highway 1, introduction of a grade separate facility (interchange) to replace the existing Squilax-Anglemont Protected-T intersection, realignment of side roads, upgrading the two Little River Road intersections, and the introduction of frontage roads to facilitate access management.

This is good news, always nice to hear an interchange will be used, will this connect to the other 4 lane projects to the west finished / u/c?

No, its right in the middle of current 4-lanes section. So with this new segment, any possibility of new alignment are gone beside maybe a bypass around Chase and Sorrento.

Here is a map for the area:

Green line - completed; Blue line - under construction; Red line - this segment
Green point - grade separation/interchange; Red point - major at-grade intersection

Minor access roads are omitted.

http://i60.tinypic.com/23w71x5.jpg

Cool, thank you for that graphic.

I dont understand why they build a mix of interchanges and at grade intersections. I am happy that they are building interchanges at all, but really this entire section from Monte Creek to Salmon Arm should have been a single project at full freeway standards.

Didn't realize anyone on here was even familiar with the "Turtle Valley" alignment. :) Part of BC MoTI's studies of a new "straight-line" corridor for Hwy 1, from roughly east of Pritchard to roughly west of Salmon Arm IIRC. From back in ~ the 1990's.

Would have shaved off considerable driving time on a new freeway-standard highway. Also would have preferred same myself.

Problem is that the existing corridor relies upon tourist and other rubber-tire traffic as part of its economic base. A Turtle Valley corridor would likely have resulted in diminished activity thereto. IOW, both economic and political problems.

Already knew Turtle Valley was off the table with previous 4-laning sections west of Salmon Arm as well as the now hugely expensive Hoffman's Bluff section east of Pritchard (and away from proposed Turtle Valley corridor).

In any event, the Turtle Valley corridor is desolated but will always remain as future potential alternate corridor - perhaps 50+ years from now.

Another big road trip coming up.. Edmonton to Smithers via 16 for my best friends' 40th, then back to PG and south on 97 for a stop in Barkerville. From there another quick hop down to Bridge Lake via 97 & 24, then down to Nelson via 23 & 6. Few days in Paradise down there then up to Vernon via 6/33, then back up to the cabin at Bridge lake via 97/5, then home to Edmonton

Gee.. Do us think We'll run into any construction :p

^ I just drove from Edmonton to Terrace and back this past week. Construction not that bad at all, a bit in JNP, and adding a couple passing lanes just west of PG. Delays very minor.

I've got a decent one coming up in early sept.

From YEG up to highway 43 to Grande Prairie to catch the start of the Tour of Alberta. Then down either 40 or 734 to Jasper and Myette Hot Springs to catch the first ever mountain stage. Another day in Jasper to watch the Marmot stage then down the Icefield Parkway to TCH and drive into Kelowna. A few days there head up to Harrison Hot Springs then into Van for a few days. I ride my bike up the S2S highway to Whistler then drive back to YEG on the Yellowhead.

So I should be able to check all the upgrades this trip.

^Wow - that's an awesome trip!
How long are you gone for?
Looking forward to your report(s)

2 weeks total a bit of riding and a bit of watching and a whole lot of wine drinking. Some friends and I are going to ride portions of the mountain stages of the Tour of Alberta before the pros come through. Be interesting to check Strava Times after and see how much slower I am.

My best riding time from Vancouver to Whistler is 5:20:00. Hope to take an hour off this years time.

I agree and disagree at the same time. It would be nicer as a freeway, but the protected T intersection in phase I of Monte Creek to Pritchard makes sense because that turn-off is rarely used. Before I moved back to Kamloops from Salmon Arm, I drove past twice every 2 weeks and very rarely saw anyone turning there. Better to complete as much 4-laning of the highway as possible first with interchanges at key intersections. I'm just happy all the current segments being built have a median barrier.

After a few decades of mish-mash 4-laning along Hwy 1 between Kamloops and the AB border, looks like a practical push is now on to 4-lane east of Kamloops continuously:

1. Pritchard to Hoffman's Bluff - 6.1 km - $62 million (under construction)

2. Hoffman's Bluff to Chase Creek Road -5 km - $47.5 million (just announced)

3. Chase Creek Road to Chase West - 2.5 km - $47 million (just announced)

BTW, on a per km basis, those are very expensive construction costs for rural 4-laning. Suspect due to terrain issues, etc.

Finally. And I mean finally. The McKenzie Rd./Hwy 1 interchange near Victoria has also been announced with funding attached at $80 million.

Hmm, I will have to check these out, hope they have some details on the provincial website.

You can make an argument about the protected T intersections in the rural stretches, they do work, but there should be no traffic lights along any of the updated sections.

Either protected-T, or interchange.

That being said, I really hope one day soon the 4 or 5 traffic lights on the eastern side of Kamloops are converted to 2 or so interchanges with frontage roads.

That section was constructed circa mid-late 1970`s. In any event, 15 years ago back in 2000, BC MoTI held local Kamloops stakeholder meetings in order to discuss upgrade options, for that section of highway, to freeway standard.

2 options: upgrade existing online or develop bypass. All stakeholders agreed to the bypass option from just east of Peterson Creek Bridge, along Juniper Ridge, (with interchange at Highland Rd.) to Holman Rd along existing TCH-1. Known as the `Juniper Bypass`, here`s a schematic:¸

https://web.archive.org/web/20001101...er_juniper.gif

Back then projected cost was $100 million plus. No doubt much higher today. More importantly, the design and corridor are in place. Just need funding allocation. And, frankly, I wouldn`t mind other sections of Hwy 1 eastward receive 4-laning priority into the mid-term.

I don't like that bypass option only because it forces you away from all the normally priced fuel retailers and strongly encourages you to stop at the Flying J, which is always at least 5-10 cents overpriced.

I suppose the highway 5 connection would also be somewhat inconvenient.

So this is yet another pie in the sky by-pass option?

There is the Vernon bypass...

The Salmon Arm bypass...

The Peachland bypass...

Numerous Kelowna bypass ideas...

The Parksville bypass on the island...

Will any of these bypasses ever be built????

Peachland is the only one that has a shred of a chance with a reasonable near future IMO.

The rational for the bypass is that the interchanges can be designed for future 6-laning. Unless the rail can be moved underground (not ever) it's not an option on the current alignment.

Maybe Chase West will have an interchange? $47 mil seems like a lot for such a short segment. There is some rock that has to be cut back, but it's nothing like kicking horse.

http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/highwayproje...0St/index.html

There are updates to the Salmon Arm West project, looks like they were posted in June. The page has a cool flyover model, and a couple of maps showing potential alignments. The PP presentation says construction should begin in 2016. If so, I really like the realignment and interchange concept for the salmon river bridge.

Drove the Transcanada from Golden to Lake Louise at about 9:30pm on the Monday of the long weekend. Long weekend traffic has got much worse over the last 5-10 years. Interesting phenomenon, the highway would get backup at all the passing lanes, drivers would try to pass but the merge slowed everything down. Ended up driving at 15km/hr at all the passing lanes, clear sailing on all the single lane sections.

Hey. Thanks for that. Was aware of the Salmon Arm improvements but never considered them more than some urban improvements. Obviously a bit more than that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqPG...ature=youtu.be

^And concrete center medians - yayy!

Thanks for all the updates, guys. I've been following all the highway developments around the province and it's nice to get so much info, especially from you, Stingray2004!

I noticed this press release the other day. Does anyone know what exactly this is? https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2015TRAN0096-001237

It mentions 4-laning a section 40km east of Revelstoke. They are also planning on upgrading the Illecillewaet brake check, but I have no idea where that is... Canyon Hot Springs, maybe?

^Seems like a lot of hoopla for only 2.5 kms of highway (re: the link)
I guess every little bit helps.

Yeah, it is more than I was expecting, but too bad right after the interchange there is a traffic light intersection...

Does anyone have any leads on the proposed design of the TCH/McKenzie/Admirals interchange planned for Saanich in Victoria?

I was hoping when I saw your post that you had found them, haha.

:)

Is that the section around Albert Canyon/Canyon Hot Springs? If so there are two bridges that jump over Illecillewaet River. That would account for the hoopla and cost.

It seems much of the focus of construction from Kamloops to the Alberta border over the past 10 years has been focused on replacing many two lane bridges with 4 lane bridges. Arguably some of the most expensive sections to upgrade to 4 lanes outside of the Kicking Horse Canyon section.

Fixed link for Sunshine Coast
 

The BC Government announced that they will study a fixed link to the lower mainland from the Sunshine Coast!

https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2015TRAN0123-001542

Wow... can anyone say: "Waste of money"?

Perhaps. But one must look at the matter from a broader a cost-benefit perspective. The Horseshoe Bay Ferry Terminal is becoming congested. And the Langdale Ferry run to the Sunshine Coast is a major route outta HB.

What would future replacement ships cost for the Langdale run cost? Is the Langdale run a money loser? Would additional funds be required to expand the HB terminal to serve the Langdale run down the road? Etc. Etc.

What would the cost be for a land route in comparison to replace the Langdale run? And would a lower highway toll than the current ferry fare cover the annual interest costs/construction costs over its life cycle? Etc. Etc.

Having all of that information would signal whether the benefits outweigh the costs of a new highway.

Again. It's just a study. Likely still decades out before anything concrete happens.

Very good points Stingray2004. This is like the corridor/second crossing study happening in the Okanagan. A study, pre-engineering is 'cheap'.

Personally I think a fixed link will cause further traffic congestion on the mainland, change the way of living along the sunshine coast among other things. Build up not out is my opinion.

A link such as this will likely come with a hefty toll (as such structures always do in Europe and Asia as well) so that would retain some of the "distance" between the Sunshine Coast and the Lower Mainland while giving the region a far more reliable and strong economic link.

It also creates the possibility (if built into the design) to have a proper rail connection in the future as well.
Not to mention what an amazing bike trip a structure such as this could become!

This black and white idea that "connectivity" = sprawl and "isolation" = good urban management is a phenomenon I have personally only largely seen in British Columbia. Such a mentality does not really exist elsewhere in the developed world on such a massive / paranoid level.

I don't understand this at all, where would this bridge even go? At it's shortest point near Furry Creek Howe Sound is still over 3KM wide, this would make any bridge here among the world's longest spans and likely immensely expensive. Not to mention you would have to drive all the way to Furry creek, then all the way back to Gibsons on the other side of Howe Sound. it probably wouldn't even save you time when compared to the ferry.

The other alternative, of bridging to Bowen then a road across Bowen then bridging to Keats island, then a road across Keats then another bridge to Gibsons would require another roughly 3KM span bridge (assuming you can't cross at the shortest point, Whytecliff Park) and a 2.2KM span bridge to Keats and a third 750M span crossing to Gibsons. Just for reference the body of water the Lions Gate crosses is only 450M.

And this is all to connect the Lower Mainland to how many people? 50,000?

I don't understand why you even need a study. It's a non starter.

↑ Exactly. Its not even 50 000 people either. Its closer to 30 000. Any money spent on this study is a waste (in my opinion), as the outcome is obvious. This is the biggest pipe dream.

four-laning between 74 and 76 Mile Houses Completed
 

Looks like this work has been completed:
http://www.naturalresource.ca/blog/p...r-now-complete
Smooth road for 32km uninterrupted.

Is it possible that a fixed link may not involve a significant water crossing? What if Hwy 101 was extended along Howe Sound to Squamish? There's also a group out of Powell River that is advocating a fixed link between Powell River and Hwy 99 between Squamish and Whistler, http://thirdcrossingsociety.com/.

Back from a week in the Cariboo to finish a few projects and shut down the cabin for the winter

The passing lane projects on 5 between Blue River and Valemount are still ongoing, but other that clear sailing on the BC side

Beware travelling into AB on 16 though, painful amount of road and bridge work in the park and a 60 km work zone between Hinton and Edson

Thanks I have to run out to Jasper for a meeting tomorrow. Its good to know about the Edson Hinton slowdown.

^ give yourself some extra time.. They are repaving almost the entire westbound section of 16 between Edson & Hinton. It's 80k the whole way with numerous stops. They are repaving the first 10k or so of the highway in the park, and both small bridges around the wildlife area are single lane

They are STILL doing that? I noticed the repaving two months ago...

Here are the three options for the McKenzie/Admirals and Highway 1 interchange in Victoria. Source: http://vibrantvictoria.ca/forum/inde...change/page-21

http://vibrantvictoria.ca/forum/uplo...1447709011.jpg

http://vibrantvictoria.ca/forum/uplo...1447709014.jpg

http://vibrantvictoria.ca/forum/uplo...1447709017.jpg

Cool, thanks for that! I say option 2 or 3.

Option 3!

Two is the most logical. So many cars queue up to make a left turn (facing the viewer of the renderings) off TCH onto McKenzie (right side of the image) that it needs to be a constant. Too many lights won't accomplish much.

Actually I was kinda hoping that a directional flyover would have been part of the plan. But better than nothing... esp. with an est. $85 million cost.