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Trans-Canada detour traffic returning
Heads up to residents of Village of Radium Hot Springs and along the Highway 95 corridor to Golden, major clusters of sudden traffic will once again be descending from the Trans-Canada Highway starting Sept. 15.
Work on the Kicking Horse Canyon Project – Phase 4 continues on schedule and people travelling along the Trans-Canada Highway near Golden are reminded that a robust traffic management plan will come into effect again this fall. Extended multi-day closures, like those in spring 2021, will take place.
The final phase of the Kicking Horse Canyon Project is complex. Traffic disruptions and full highway closures during certain times are necessary to safely carry out the heavy excavation and construction required, explained the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure.
The traffic management strategy is designed to minimize and mitigate traffic disruptions while allowing the work to proceed safely and on schedule:
* Labour Day weekend: the canyon will be fully open day and night.
* Until Sept. 15: daytime travel through the canyon will continue to be uninterrupted with rare exceptions. Evening half-hour stoppages due to single-lane alternating traffic and overnight closures will continue. During any overnight closures, Trans-Canada Highway traffic will be diverted to the alternative route of highways 93 (through Kootenay National Park) and 95 from Radium Hot Springs to Golden.
* Sept. 15: daytime stoppages of up to half an hour due to single-lane alternating traffic will be added between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.
* Sept. 20 (noon) to Dec. 1 (6 a.m.): Kicking Horse Canyon Constructors will implement a multi-day, 24-hour, extended closure of the Trans-Canada Highway. Through traffic on Highway 1 between Golden to Castle Junction will be routed via highways 93 and 95, which will add up to 1.5 hours of travel time. Roadside signage will provide advance notification of the closure. Alternative routes will have signage.
Exceptions to extended road closures:
* Sept. 25-26: the multi-day 24-hour closure is suspended, but shorter-duration stoppages and overnight closures may apply.
* Thanksgiving holiday long weekend: the highway will be fully open day and night.
* A limited-access pass system established to allow local commuters and school buses to be escorted through the construction zone during two brief windows daily is now at or very near capacity. Information on the pass system is posted on the project website.
Stay well informed of traffic effects throughout the project.
While making plans, people are encouraged to check the highway status calendar on the project website: www.kickinghorsecanyon.ca
Before leaving on travels, check: DriveBC.ca
The scheduled times of the potential two-hour and overnight closures will be posted a week before on: DriveBC.ca
The ministry thanks everyone for their patience as work on this major route continues.
Along with 4.8 kilometres of four-laning Highway 1, improvements will include snow avalanche and rock fall mitigation, as well as wildlife exclusion fencing.
Lead image: The sudden arrival of long lines of vehicles in Radium Hot Springs creates big city traffic in the blink of an eye. e-KNOW file photos
e-KNOW
