New bus-queue jump lane coming to Sooke Road at Jacklin Road

Monday, March 11 ~ LANGFORD / SOOKE.

~ Mary P Brooke, West Shore Voice News

Another plank of improving commuter traffic and service for transit users through the western communities was announced today by the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure.

Work will start this week to create an eastbound bus-queue jump lane at Jacklin Road and Highway 14/Sooke Road. Highway 14 runs from Veterans Memorial Parkway in Langford up to Sooke and further west out to Port Renfrew. Daily Sooke commuters are likely to benefit most.

“This gives people one more incentive to take transit and with it, we are opening the door for more commuters to take the bus,” said Claire Trevena, Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure. “Along with our commitment to priority bus lanes along the Douglas Street corridor, people will spend less time on the bus stuck in traffic and more time with family and friends.”

The eastbound bus-queue lane will start about 100 metres before the Jacklin/Sooke Road intersection, allowing transit buses to bypass congestion and traffic build-up at that key Langford-entry intersection.

The lane will continue after the intersection along Highway 14, before buses will merge back with the flow of traffic.

“We’re proud to work with our provincial and local partners to introduce new infrastructure that supports transit services in Greater Victoria,” said Susan Brice, chair of the Victoria Regional Transit Commission.

“This project will integrate nicely into transit priority projects on the Island Highway, Highway 1 and Douglas Street that will help to reduce travel times for transit customers.”

The project will also reconfigure the intersection of Jacklin Road and Highway 14 to improve safety and sight lines, along with increasing the left-hand turning lane capacity from Highway 14 onto Jacklin Road.

In order to complete the work, crews will rebuild the sidewalk on the north side of Highway 14 and install a new BC Transit bus stop.

Completion of this project is expected by summer 2019.

The project, expected to cost approximately $2 million, is part of a suite of upgrades for the Highway 14 corridor. In January 2018, Premier John Horgan announced a series of improvements to make the highway safer and more efficient for drivers, transit users, cyclists and pedestrians. He did that roadside, with a large crowd from political, business and local communities.

Corridor improvements include:
* three new bus pullouts on both sides of Highway 14 (two of those near Sooke) – completed
* new safety signs at three locations (including LED/reflective directional arrow signs on curves that were previously difficult at night) – completed
* new rest area at Sombrio Beach – completed
* new highway line painting (thicker lines, reflective) – completed
* slow-moving vehicle pullout east of Muir Creek – completed
* new two-lane bridge on Gillespie Road – completed
* Sooke River Road intersection upgrades – scheduled for completion in summer 2019

This work aligns with the ongoing South Vancouver Island Transportation Strategy. Launched earlier this year by the ministry, the strategy is designed to take a complete, comprehensive and coordinated approach towards improving traffic flow and congestion issues on southern Vancouver Island.

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Related:

Highway 1 to get southbound bus lane (March 6, 2019)

South Vancouver Island Transportation Strategy announced by Minister Claire Trevena (January 8 & 30, 2019)