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

North side of Nanaimo, not the interchange on the south side.

Yeah, my super dream is for the entire #1 / Malahat to be upgraded to freeway standards from Victoria to Nanaimo. This could be built as a distance based toll way though.

Isn't the terrain to the east of Big White quite mountainous? Would the road follow the Kettle River (not West Kettle River) valley part of the way and join with highway 6, at least in the medium/long term until bridging the South Arrow Lake occurred? Also, I read that some want the dam near Castlegar removed, and that would drop the level of the lake,allowing for a more cost effective bridge.

I always wondered if a Needles to South Slogan highway would be built, bypassing Nakusp and the circuitous loop, but with the stagnant population, I doubt it would happen.

Hey Splash. Locally there hasn't been any talk regarding removing the Hugh Keenleyside Dam here. Especially with the demand for electricity ever climbing.
As far as the route being mountainous, almost every highway in BC has faced this and gone through anyways. Im not sure if the route has been surveyed out yet but straight west to the Arrow is what ive heard. The Coq is no stranger to mountainous routes haha.

Gotcha. Admirals Road, 19A/19, and Ware Road could be limited to the single interchange.
Actually, the whole road from Parksville to Victoria is pretty substandard, with one of the worst portions at Northwest Road in Nanoose Bay where the speed limit drops to 60 km/hr. When accidents occur between Lantzville and Nanoose Bay, and the highway is closed, traffic cannot get around. A bypass tollway between Parksville and Nanaimo Parkway would be welcome.

Instead of upgrading the existing route, which has some space constraints, wouldn't it make more sense to build an entirely new inland route, as was done past Parksville?

That way, the current highway could serve it's current local traffic role, without all the extra through traffic. And it would provide an alternate, slower route for those who aren't keen on paying a toll.

You are quite right, as I must have read an article at the beginning of the series in the Nelson paper:
http://thenelsondaily.com/news/hugh-...9#.VDXA0NtlCpY

Later in the series, reasoning is made why the dam should be kept.

Wouldn't it be interesting to see the proposed route, if it was developed with some hope of it getting built, not just a campaign promise like the Needles ferry replacement with a bridge about a decade ago.

^^^ That would be awesome and also I've heard rumours to replace 2 of the ferries in Arrow Lake. Needles/Foquier and Galena Bay/Shelter Bay.

Actually, BC MoTI conducted a study of the Malahat through Goldstream Prov. Park back in 2007 with several options. Back then, even with a "Rural Arterial Standard" design and 80 km/hr design speed they were looking at roughly $300 - 400 million.

With an "Expressway Standard" design and a 100 km/hr design speed, today perhaps $600 million+.

http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/malahat/fina...t-July2007.pdf

And the Pat Bay Hwy upgrades were also studied last in 2007. Costs unknown.

http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/publications...r_Strategy.pdf

Top three transportation priorities in BC

Hwy 1 - Kamloops to Alberta four-laning with interchanges at key locations.

Hwy 1 - Malahat corridor four-laning

Hwy 97 - Peachland area four-laning on current alignment, not a bypass, freeway not necessary

The Malahat should be done to freeway standards.

Also, Peachland needs to be a new bypass similar to what was done near Oyama just a couple years ago. Having the current alignment widened to 4 lanes will pretty much kill al of Peachland's charm and will likely involve massive amounts of property acquisition / demolition. Not worth it at all.