Well, this seems like the place to add this. The Massey tunnel on the BC99 corridor (connects to I-5 in US) will be replaced with a 10 lane bridge. Construction should start in 2017.

Budget in the 1.5 billion range (including demo of tunnel & highway/interchange improvements)

Project website: http://engage.gov.bc.ca/masseytunnel/

Conception:

http://i42.tinypic.com/11m51r8.png

http://i41.tinypic.com/fyhezd.png

img source - BC Ministry of Transportation

Some of the types of Dynamic Message (advanced traveller information) signs that have been installed on provincial highways. These signs are in conjunction with mobile DriveBC (http://www.drivebc.ca/mobile/).

http://i43.tinypic.com/35i0ys7.jpg

http://i42.tinypic.com/494i.png

http://i43.tinypic.com/k1bbmh.jpg

Image source: BC Ministry of Transportation

I understand the BC Ministry is also studying the possibility of installing an Active Traffic Management corridor for BC99 from the I-5 to BC17. Similar to what WSDOT has done (report - http://www.oregonite.org/technicalwo...20-%20Dang.pdf) :

WSDOT pLan:
http://i44.tinypic.com/9jd53d.jpg

In place actual w/dynamic enforceable speed limits:
http://i43.tinypic.com/rixjr9.jpg

Img source: WSDOT

Wow - very impressive.
How is BC paying for all these massively expensive transportation projects in the Vancouver area?

quite a bit of hwy 97 has been doubled just south of 100 mile house, its quite a lot better getting through, was nothing worse than being stuck behind a truck for miles and miles

also a large section of double laning is done just south of prince george

the highway will be great when it is finally completed from cache creek to prince george, but i wonder how long it will take and how some of it will get done seeing how narrow some areas are

Tolls on the Port Mann and Golden Ears Bridges. People are speculating on this project too. I think a toll is likely, these projects are, as you say, massively expensive.

Phase 2 projects include short portions around Williams Lake (2 projects), one south of Quesnel, one just north of the 70 Mile four-laning. The 70 Mile area projects are still having paving being done. One section might be done by Thanksgiving.

I doubt you'll see the four laning completed in 20 years. The most dangerous sections have already been done and the population is declining.

One project that might be done in 10 years is a Quesnel bypass, worth about $110 million. A project I would like to see is a true Cariboo connector, a link between Pavilion and Kelly Lake paralleling the railway. That would cut 30 minutes travel time between Lillooet and Clinton.

a quesnel bypass would be awesome, it's so confusing and a slow down when you are trying to get past/through that part

Not sure if there's been any mention of a roundabout on Hwy 5 in Clearwater, but there's a roundabout on Hwy 5 in Clearwater. It was still under construction when I drove through last weekend. It appears to allow for two through lanes on Hwy 5, and then single lane across.

^ I saw that the last time I was through in the summer. Interesting choice of location for a roundabout to say the least.

Am headed for Bridge Lake area this weekend to go shut down the cabin for the winter.. Hopefully most of the construction projects along Hwy 5 are complete. Would really like to see some more passing lanes on that stretch from Tete Jaune to the Sun Peaks turnoff. With the staggering amount of freight moving up that highway, and increasing tourist traffic it's getting quite congested over the summer months

It's been disturbingly quiet on the announcement front for Kicking Horse Canyon for too long.
Is there any work going on right now?
Anything scheduled for the next phase?

I noticed that several minor projects have been added to the Okanagan Valley Corridor section of the Ministry's website:

http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/OkanaganValley/index.html


They mainly consist of adding passing lanes to Highway 33 and 97.

Cariboo Highway construction
 

The construction between 70 Mile House and 100 Mile House has been completed. It is pretty smooth travelling on the Cariboo Highway now.

Just for fun, in our opinions, which are the top 5 cities/towns in BC that could use by-passes?

My 5 in no real order:
1. Duncan
2. Kelowna
3. Vernon
4. Quesnel
5. Salmon Arm

Quesnel
Duncan
Salmon Arm
Vernon
Sicamous

Also Revelstoke unless they can use the current alignment.

I'm not very familiar with all the highways in BC but I sure wish Kelowna would get a by-pass. I don't find Vernon all that bad but I wouldn't complain if they built one. :)

Just with the way Kelowna is laid out, any bypass would just add time to the commute of someone trying to pass through. They need to find a way to fully isolate the highway along the current RoW with standard freeway style exits.

Vernon you could build a bypass around. But which way around the city would be more efficient? Considering the convergence of 4 different highways on vernon, would it be better to have a ring-road?

Quesnel, as much of a fist-fuck as it is to drive through, doesn't really have the traffic to warrant a bypass yet.

Duncan??? How about the Inland Island highway needs to be continued all the way from Parksville to Victoria, by-passing everything?

Salmon Arm could use a bypass, but where would you put it? a bridge over the lake?

Sicamous isn't that terrible to drive through. Just upgrade the 97c intersection.

Revelstoke doesn't need a bypass. Just a new bridge when they 4-lane it.

Agreeably, all of the communities you have mentioned deserve bypasses in this day and age and bypass studies have actually been previously completed for all. I will just post the proposed Kelowna bypass, which has partially been completed (first small segment) and will connect to a future 3rd crossing of OK Lake:

http://www.kelowna.ca/CityPage/Docs/...s-Ultimate.pdf

Pretty sure the route currently planned won't add extra time. However I would rather see a south bypass, ie an extension of 97C.Like this.

The City of Vernon chose an eastern bypass over a western route. I've also wondered which would be the better option. You can find both routes on pages 58 and 59 of this document.

The idea is probably to take trucks away from downtown. More of a safety issue than congestion.

Parksville is already bypassed, Nanaimo has a bypass, interchanges can be added when necessary, so that leaves Ladysmith, Duncan, and the Malahat without freeway sections. Not sure when they will be needed though.

A bridge over Shuswap Lake has been discussed, obviously long term. I've only seen options for bypassing Salmon Arm, I think they could build it farther north and bypass SA and Sicamous.

I'm expecting a replacement bridge to come soon, the province seems to be in bridge replacing mode right now. Was just in Revelstoke last week and it's a tad scary when trucks pass on the other side.

Another bypass that is currently being discussed is Peachland. the MOT hasn't decided between a bypass or four-laning the current alignment. In my opinion, they should start with the four-laning, at the rate Peachland is growing, it will need to be four-laned with or without a bypass for local traffic flow. a bypass should be long term, as in 60+ years. A freeway down to Penticton is a long way off. Build a Kelowna bypass, Vernon bypass, freeway through Winfield, then a Peachland bypass.

Peachland bypass
 

A lot of Peachland people don't want the highway expanded to 4 lanes through their town. The cost of expropriating the land would be high to 4 lane in town. Build the bypass off of 97C. As 97C parallels 97 for quite a way anyway, the distance wouldn't be that far to connect back to 97.

A study is being requested.

http://www.pentictonwesternnews.com/news/219931611.html

Why not go south from Sicamous instead? Follow close to the existing 97A alignment down to Enderby, then west along the 97 alignment to Monte Creek? According to Google Maps this existing route is only 14 km longer than the existing TransCanada route, but you could straighten the route out to avoid going as far south as Armstrong. This would save you from building a ridiculously expensive bridge across Shuswap Lake and hugging a freeway along so many miles of rugged lakefront.

Cariboo Connector
 

There are quite a few updates on the website for Phase 2:

http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/cariboo_connector/overview.htm


Interesting to see that Stone Creek Bridge to Williams Road will be a split-grade segment, and that Williams Lake IR to Lexington will have an interchange!

Maybe I'm just imagining things... But I've been driving a lot around the Okanagan lately, and I've been noticing something and wondering about it. Seems somewhat relevant given all the four-laning of highway 1 and 97 in BC lately.

At some point in the 90's, did highway design standards in BC or the process behind expressway/freeway design decisions change in the province?
I ask this because it seems like most of the major routes conceived prior to the mid to late 90's seem relatively similar to in other places in Canada, whereas since then everything they have been building seems quite under-built to me.

For instance, the Coquihalla, 97C and the Inland Island Highway fit into the first category, and they all have relatively high design speeds (somewhere between 110 and 130 I'm guessing?), and *where possible*, they have a grass median. They also have reasonably wide shoulders on the outside where space is available. In a nutshell, they feel, for the most part, like they could be from the interstate network in the states.

Everything since then strikes me as completely different (South Fraser Perimeter Road, Sea to Sky, improved sections of interior highways, etc). I have yet to hear of anything being built at a higher design speed than 100 km/h over the past decade, the shoulders seem a bit narrower, and the medians are completely different. Why do they never twin routes with a grass median? Wouldn't it be cheaper to do that instead of laying the extra pavement in the middle?
The biggest question I have though, is why the government keeps four-laning in that strange configuration (quite common on highway 97) of two yellow lines separated by 3 or four feet of pavement in the middle of the highway, with no barrier or grass median?

It's all better than nothing, but most other jurisdictions in North America seem to be outdoing us. That being said, I'd probably be fine with the 100 km/h design speed roads if they consistently built interchanges rather than intersections.

^That's a very accurate observation - good post.

The Highway 17 SFPR is not meant to be like the Trans Canada in the final configuration. Neither is the Sea to Sky. They are not meant to be eventual freeways, but expressways.

It's all about cost. Roads cost more to build in BC due to terrain, and often routes are not adjacent to crown land (land is more expensive to expropriate than in the past).

Phase 2 of Monte Creek to Pritchard of HWY 1 was originally split grade in the eastern section, but consultation with stakeholders prompted the design to include an interchange at Pritchard. In order to offset the increased cost they switched to a median barrier.

I've noticed that the four-lane projects most recently announced on highway 1 mostly or all have median barriers, as do the current projects between Kamloops and Chase, so someone may be listening. Highway 97 on the other hand mostly no, and that might be due to differences in traffic count.

Fair enough... I wonder if more significant federal highway funding, like they have in the States, and a number of European countries would resolve this... It can't be cheap to build freeways in Colorado, or Washington state for instance, yet they have proper freeways.

To be perfectly fair, the only 4-laned BC highway I've noticed that has no proper divider, and that feels somewhat dangerous is the short portion of highway 97C between Merritt and the Connector. People on that stretch tend to drive 110-130, and when you are in the left lane with only about 3 feet of road between you and head on cars coming at you at that speed, it's not exactly confidence inspiring. The relatively large traffic volumes also don't help.

In that case, the province initially wanted to extend 97c all the way to highway 5 on a new alignment. However the local population along 5a revolted and prevented it. That's why it was left in an unfinished state, with 5a 2 lanes for many years. When it became clear that extending 97c to 5 would never happen, 5a was upgraded to 4 lanes.
To make the story short, it wasn't the government's fault.

Ah, thank you for that information. I was wondering about that when driving back from Kelowna yesterday.

It's actually not a big deal, as the road is in excellent condition and very nice to drive on.

Another couple of items wrt highway standards have to do with location. If it goes through ALR land it is considerably more difficult to acquire land required for a divided 110km standard road. For good reason, since we have such limited farm land available - SFPR is a perfect example. Also, highway 5 and 97C were essentially built in the middle of nowhere. Instead of expanding existing roads they built brand new ones away from most environmentalist groups and general public.

Back when 5 was conceived, BC was in dire need of a decent road to the interior - so worth it. They should have kept the toll and directed funds to maintenance and other infrastructure projects. Too bad. They could have used funds to directly pay for Kamloops to Alberta 4 lanning or 97 4-lanning or Highway 3 4-lanning or, or, or.

^Good points about keeping the toll and using it for other highway projects.

I was told at one time (not sure if it was true) that was one of the tolls initial intents - after paying off the capital expense of the project, Highway 3 was to be upgraded to 4 lanes from Hope to the Okanagan.

That should remain a very low priority. volumes on there are quite low. There are some spots that should see some investment to help aid safety and remove some very tight corners through Manning Park and towards Princeton.

However, the cost of these projects versus the benefits would be difficult to promote it compared to other priorities in BC.

the toll should have remained on the Coquihala, don't know anyone who really complained about it, and that funding now would be helpful.

I found some interesting information posted by the Third Crossing Society, a group that wants to create a highway corridor between the Interior of British Columbia and the Pacific coast via Powell River. The corridor is proposing upgrading Hwy 99 between Cache Creek and Squamish, a new two lane highway between Squamish and Powell River, and increased use of the Powell River-Comox ferry to Vancouver Island.

The reasoning for the project is a 24/7, overland route between Powell River and Squamish (eliminating 2 ferries between Powell River and the rest of the mainland, even though Powell River is located on the mainland) and an alternate route between Vancouver Island and the mainland which completely bypasses Greater Vancouver.

A link to the Third Crossing Society can be found at http://www.thirdcrossingsociety.com while a map of the proposed route connecting Highways 99 and 101 can be found at https://powellriverregionaldistrict....ay.aspx?Id=556 (see page 16).

It would have been good if the toll were taken off after the capital costs were paid off, but why should Coquihalla drivers pay for other projects. Toll other projects such as Kicking Horse directly to pay for them.

Is there a reason newly twinned sections of highway in BC don 't have concrete jersey barriers installed down the center any more?
Is it simply a cost saving measure?
:shrug:

Yeah! lol

I think enough people have made comments about this issue that most or all of the future projects will have them. The segments between Monte Creek and Chase that are currently under construction should have median barrier throughout.

The bridge deck for the Pritchard interchange is now being worked on, and work seems to progressing quickly.The power lines have been realigned north of the highway at Hoffman's Bluff, and a shoulder barrier is now in place, suggesting that Phase II of Pritchard to Hoffman's Bluff will be announced soon.

Just did the Calgary - Penticton & back drive. Only about 56kms left to twin between Golden & Alberta - will be nice to have this done. And then keep pecking away between Golden & Kamloops.

Yay!

B.C. raises speed limits on some provincial highways.

Most of the new speed limits will come into effect over the summer, but increases to the Coquihalla, as well as highways near Peachland and the Fraser Valley begin today.

BC is also introducing new “variable” speed limits zones (like Wash State/ Europe etc) on three highways — a section of Trans-Canada Highway, Coquihalla and Sea-to-Sky highway — where the speed limit can be raised or lowered on a LED sign, depending on weather and road conditions.

BC will also change legislation to give better enforcement tools to police so they can ticket slow-moving drivers who refuse to pull into the right lane and clog up traffic in the left passing lane. BC will also install new signs directing slower motorists to use designated pullout sections if they are impeding more than five vehicles (like Wash State) behind them.

New 120 km/hr Speed zones:

BC 5 Coquihalla Hope to Kamloops; BC 97C (Okanagan Connector) Aspen Grove to Peachland; BC 19 (Inland Island Highway) Parksville to Campbell River.

New 110 km/hr Speed Zones:

TCH 1 Exit 95 to jct. BC 3 (74 km in Fraser Valley ); BC 97C Merritt to Aspen Grove; BC 97 - 70 mile house to 100 mile house.

New 100 km/hr Speed Zones:

A bunch of 80/90 km/hr zones are being increased to 100 km/hr, some pending a review to see if median barriers (concrete or cable) are required based on speed/median width/sight distance formula involved.

full list of changes: http://www.newsroom.gov.bc.ca/2014/0...-highways.html


New signage:

http://i62.tinypic.com/4jwefq.jpg

http://i58.tinypic.com/r2wcwg.jpg

Why hasn't BC adopted guard rails along any of their highways? Instead of jersey barriers in some spots.

Modern guard rail design is safer and more forgiving then pre-cast barriers ever could be....

I think BC mostly uses rigid concrete barriers due to life-cycle/repair/maintenance costs, practicality and overall effectiveness. This is why they are the most common barrier in use in North America.

Washington state did a study comparing rigid concrete barriers (no-posts/modified jersey) and w steel/post guardrails. They found that while injury rates were higher in collisions with rigid barriers, fatality rates were actually lower...

Steel W guardrail systems need more expensive and extensive repairs after an accident to restore barrier effectiveness. Rigid concrete barriers can be hit several times by light vehicles with no repairs needed at all. Rigid concrete barriers tend to be more effective with higher volume/higher speed traffic and heavy trucks. Things like soil types also come into play when installing steel w/post barriers i.e.. not easy/cheap/practical to install posts into bedrock compared to laying concrete barriers atop asphalt.

Here is more information from the FHWA regarding barriers, including the now popular and effective cable barriers that are popping up in BC and Washington state.

http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/roadway_d...dian_barriers/

New 120km/hr signs installed on BC 19 - Inland Island Highway:

http://i57.tinypic.com/2zf67x5.jpg
source - BC Ministry of Transportation

Crazy to think that in the not-to-distant future one could drive to the Okanagan over the Okanagan Connector (97C), turn near Trepanier staying in the hills then descend to the valley floor to cross the lake into Kelowna and follow a new limited stop corridor all the way to UBC-O. Nuts!

It is nuts, if one believes this would happen in the next thirty years. Studies are cheap relative to projects, however. One hopes the investigation into potential connecting routes will be thorough and some of these would be economically feasible in the nearer term.

yeah, this is a long way out. What would be fantastic is combining all these projects together, and having 1 single proposal for a free flow (freeway or dare I say, toll way) from the south side of Peachland to the north end of Kelowna.

I wonder which possible route they will select on the Kelowna side for connecting the new crossing to Central Okanagan Multi-Modal Corridor at Clement/Gordon Dr. I suspect it will either continue along the now defunct railway corridor through to Manhattan Point or (more likely) divert further north along the base of Knox Mountain utilizing Trench Pl/Broadway Ave through to Sutherland Park. I think the second option is more likely since it impacts less properties directly.

So it sounds like that the #1 and McKenzie intersection has been identified as the largest traffic problem on Vancouver Island and that there are interchange plans in the works.

Estimates for the interchange are 80 to 100 million.

Apparently all the details will be revealed early next year with the provinces 3 billion dollar transportation plan.

Will be great to see this intersection become an interchange.

Here is the article:

http://www.timescolonist.com/news/lo...ders-1.1417610

Unlike in Vancouver all the communities in Victoria seem to agree on this and it will therefore hopefully go ahead. People can leave there comments starting on October 14.

I really hope that the 3 billion plan involves a few more interchanges on Vancouver Island.

Would be great to have the #17 a full freeway someday relatively soon.

Also wish that they would make the Nanaimo Parkway / Island Highway intersection an interchange. That intersection has the most bizarre set up where the exit starts off as a ramp (you exit on the right side) but then crosses the road you just left at grade........ why did they just next make left turn lanes if it was not going to be an interchange????

80 to 100 million sounds high to me unless they are including a Tillicum interchange and widening to six lanes in the area.

Widening of the TC west of the Leigh Road interchange would be beneficial too.

Nanaimo Parkway / TransCanada interchange allows unimpeded travel except for those travelling to or from Nanaimo city centre along the TC. I think other intersections to interchange upgrades such as TC and Moran, just to the south, would offer better value for money.

Over a decade ago I clipped out articles out of both the Kelowna and Castlegar newspapers regarding an extention of the Coquihalla Highway into the Kootenays (Kootenay Connector). This involved a second crossing of Okanagan Lake in Kelowna and the highway continuing along Springfield Road right through town and connecting up with Highway 33 in Rutland. It then would follow the existing highway to Big White where they are currently building a seemingly oversized interchange at the Big White turnoff. This highway will then cut straight west until it meets up with the Arrow Lakes. One branch will head north and connect with Highway 1 in Revelstoke and the other will head straight south along the lake into Castlegar and tie into Highway 3 the Crowsnest. Its been a dream of mine to be connected to Vancouver by a "freeway" ever since. :slob:

Oh where to begin....LOL.

The #1 TCH @ McKenzie Ave (Saanich) was considered worthy of an interchange back in the early '90s when the Island Highway project was being designed. In fact it was included in the original plans for the Victoria Approaches project ... but due to political interference and cost overruns on the Parksville to Campbell River freeway it was deleted along with the Spencer Road flyover.

Back then the interchange was pegged at 45-60 million. It will be large. The elevations at the site will make it challenging. But it is 15 years overdue!

Also, the TCH at the Westshore Parkway needs to be done as well, that will probably be identified as the #2 concern for the region.... the delays in the afternoon commute north over the Malahat are unacceptable. They need to widen the TCH stretch through Goldstream park to 4 lanes in conjunction with that. Looking at about another 100 million there.

The last study I saw to create a freeway/expressway for the Pat Bay (BC 17) from Beacon thru Sayward Rd. was in the 350 million range back in the late 90s. It included interchanges at Sayward, Keating X-road, Mt. Newton X-road, McTavish/Airport (which has been done) and Beacon Rd. (major interchange ). It left Island View as a signalized inetrsection (land access perhaps??).

We can dream that they will spring 600-800 million for Victoria region highway improvements...and another 1 billion for LRT :D