Tuesday, April 23, 2019 ~ SOOKE [with updates April 24]
~ by Mary P Brooke, West Shore Voice News
Improvements to Highway 14 have (Sooke Road) been a long time coming. Ever since Premier John Horgan has been MLA for the Sooke area (that’s now 14 years), he’s heard about the dangerous driving conditions on that provincial highway which is essentially the one-way-in, one-way-out of Sooke for commuters, residents and tourists.
The process began in 2018 including widened shoulders, thicker brighter lines, reflective and LED directional signage, a fully upgraded intersection including signalized traffic lights at the Sooke River Road intersection, and a widened bridge at Roche Cove in East Sooke.
All of that was first announced by Premier John Horgan (MLA for the Langford-Juan de Fuca riding which includes Sooke) in January last year, and it’s all done.
Fast-forward to today, Horgan was again roadside with a highway announcement, along with Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure (MOTI) Claire Trevena. It was a sunny day with a fairly brisk wind as if the winds of change were finally smiling on Sooke.
Trevena recapped her progress with the South Island Regional Transportation Strategy including an optional route for the Malahat, the active transportation initiative, and retaining the E&N rail corridor as a transportation corridor for the future.
Then Premier Horgan made the big announcement for an eager Sooke-commuter and tourist/business route audience which included elected officials, business leaders and community leaders from Sooke, Juan de Fuca and Langford as well as BC Transit and Sooke School District 62 (SD62).
“These improvements for Sooke Road and for Otter Point Road west of Sooke are long overdue,” said Horgan in his remarks to the crowd of about 100 people including government officials and staff as passenger vehicles, trucks (including logging trucks) and motorcycles zoomed past.
Highway 14 connects Victoria/Langford to Sooke. Now it will have a widened section 1.5 km long from Connie Road to Glinz Lake Road, realigned and with median barriers. The new section of highway will run behind the 17 Mile Pub for main traffic flow-through, with the present section realigned as a type of alternate access (in fact, as an extension of Gillespie Road). Highway 14 and Gillespie will become a signalized intersection, with a Park and Ride for about 50 vehicles at that location that will utilize land to the east of the pub and north of the existing highway and new Gillespie Road intersection.
The park and ride will be accessible via the new intersection of Gillespie Road and the new highway alignment. The old highway section in front of the 17 Mile Pub will become an extension of Gillespie Road, connecting it up to the new highway alignment further east at the new intersection. Pub owner Jeremy Wilson said today that he appreciates there will now be two access points for his business, which is also home to Adrena LINE Zipline Adventure Tours.
A full conceptual plan of the highway improvements is online.
MOTI says that construction of the Connie to Glinz segment of Highway 14 is scheduled to start in spring 2020 and will take approximately two years to complete, finishing by summer 2022. The cost for Connie to Glinz is $65.786 million — of that BC is paying $43,630,500 and the federal government is contributing $22,155,500.
There is also another project on west of Sooke (in the Juan de Fuca area) to build wider shoulders on Highway 14 (called West Coast Road at that point) for 11 km between Otter Point Road and Woodhaven Road. That piece has a budget of $19,929,000 (BC’s portion $11,851,500 and federal $8,077,500). The construction timeline is from late summer 2019 through to summer 2021.
Together, the two projects — both presently in the design phase — come with a price tag of $85.715 million. The Government of Canada is contributing up to $30,233,000 through the New Building Canada Fund, while the Government of British Columbia is providing up to $55,482,000.
The project cost includes acquisition of land from 26 property owners along the Highway 14 stretch between Connie and Glinz Lake Road. Six of those properties are still in negotiation for expropriation, said Horgan today. And he quickly added that “tens of thousands of people’s lives will be better because of these improvements”. Five of the six owners have agreed on a fair market price, Horgan said, and negotiations are still underway with the sixth.
Improving the travel experience for motorists, transit and cyclists between Langford/Victoria and Sooke is a boon for both communities. Many people work in one community while living in the other; their commutes take up a big part of their day. When there are vehicle incidents on Highway 14, it can jam up people’s schedules for hours, causing missed appointments.
Langford Mayor Stew Young has long been proactive about four-laning of Highway 14 as a way to support commuters and improved business access. Sooke Mayor Maja Tait has also hoped for Highway 14 improvements during her years on Council; at a recent meeting she was challenged by a group of residents for not appearing to more a part of the four-laning land acquisition discussions. But today Premier Horgan told West Shore Voice News that it was appropriate for Tait to say that her municipality wouldn’t really have a direct role in the planning of a provincial highway.
Also announced today was a Highway 1 four-laning project between Leigh Road and the West Shore Parkway, the Government of Canada is providing up to $4,750,000 through the New Building Canada Fund, while the Government of British Columbia is providing up to $9,250,000.
“For safety, that’s a bonus for everybody,” said Langford Mayor Stew Young about the upcoming improvements to Highway 1 from Leigh Road to West Shore Parkway. The upgrades of the stretch of Highway 1 between Leigh Road and West Shore Parkway include widening from three lanes to four and installing a new median barrier to separate traffic. A new northbound through lane will also be constructed at the West Shore Parkway intersection, to help with more efficient traffic flow at that signalized intersection.
The federal Minister of Infrastructure and Communities, Francois-Phillipe Champagne, was unable to attend the announcement in Sooke today. In a news release, Champagne said: “These vital improvements along Highways 1 and 14 on Vancouver Island will greatly reduce the risk of collisions and ensure residents, tourists and businesses can travel safely and efficiently through the region for years to come.” Keeping people and goods moving is “essential to helping our businesses complete”, he said.
The federal Budget 2019 builds on the Investing in Canada Plan, under which the Government of Canada is investing more than $180 billion over 12 years in community infrastructure across the country. More than $10.1 billion of that funding is supporting trade and transportation projects, including $5 billion available for investment through the Canada Infrastructure Bank. Federal infrastructure investments in British Columbia are posted online.
Sooke Fire Chief Kenn Mount and Deputy Chief/Emergency Program Coordinator Matt Barney were at today’s event. They are glad for the future improved emergency access that the four-laning will provide.
Sooke Region Museum director Lee Boyko was pleased about the upcoming improvements, as the museum welcomes thousands of visitors each year who travel Highway 14 to get into Sooke.
Victoria Regional Transit Commission chair Susan Brice is pleased that the #61 bus will be even better facilitated on an improved highway. Currently about 2,300 commuter trips are taken on the #61 route to and from Sooke/Victoria each weekday, with another 200 using the #65 route that runs through Westhills in Langford before heading to Victoria.
Several members of the Sooke Economic Development Commission were at today’s event including Jeremy Wilson, Doug Wittich, and David Evans. That ad-hoc group of local business owners has worked for years behind the scenes to help facilitate solutions for Highway 14 improvements.
Sooke Council was represented by Mayor Maja Tait, and Councillors Jeff Bateman, Ebony Logins and Megan McMath. Sooke’s interim CAO Don Schaeffer was in attendance.
Langford Council was represented by Mayor Stew Young, and Councillors Lanny Seaton, Denise Blackwell and Norma Stewart. Langford CAO Darren Kiedyk was in attendance.
Juan de Fuca Director Mike Hicks was pleased with the improvements, especially the widened Roche Cove bridge in East Sooke and the new 11 km of widened shoulders on Highway 14 west of Sooke.
Janelle Staite, Regional Deputy Director, Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure who will be overseeing the projects attended the announcement today.