2241 replies to this topic

[rjag]

We have a premier who's riding covers that part of the Malahat. It could be now or never.

I have to grudgingly give the NDP of the 90's some credit here, it was on their watch that the Nanaimo bypass was built and the Vancouver Island Highway Project saw all sorts of improvements around Thetis lake and Mckenzie at Pat Bay. One can only hope they have the balls to pick up where they left off...not holding my breath as I don't think this government will be around to see it through...not to forget the lack of political will from the 97 local politicians to do with anything car

[On the Level]

A bridge at $1.2B doesn't seem to me to be the best solution.  The Pat Bay is already at capacity at certain times of the day, so adding the TCH traffic onto it is a no-go.

 

Bypass the Goldstream section of the highway at $600m and be done with it. 

[malahatdrive]

I agree the bridge is not the way to go. With Langford growing leaps and bounds it's a destination in itself. A bridge to the peninsula would not help with those bound to/from the Westshore.

Considering the other upgrades currently complete or underway in the middle part of the malahat it makes sense to bypass Goldstream at the southern end.

[Nparker]

We have a premier who's riding covers that part of the Malahat. It could be now or never.

With a minority government hanging in the balance, my guess is that the answer is never.

[Mike K.]

The Pat Bay is only limited by a lack of interchanges. It’s a large enough highway to handle significant traffic with its four lane design.

A bridge over the inlet plus a beefed up McKenzie connector between the two highways would literally solve Victoria’s primary infrastructure issue for generations. Our growth is so small that capacity issues wouldn’t arise until well into the latter half of this century, if then, but gosh golly, we sure could use a proper road network today.

[Cats4Hire]

I can imagine the announment now "to improve Malahat conditions we will be totally redoing the Pat Bay highway and upgrading McKenzie".

[rjag]

The Pat Bay is only limited by a lack of interchanges. It’s a large enough highway to handle significant traffic with its four lane design.

A bridge over the inlet plus a beefed up McKenzie connector between the two highways would literally solve Victoria’s primary infrastructure issue for generations. Our growth is so small that capacity issues wouldn’t arise until well into the latter half of this century, if then, but gosh golly, we sure could use a proper road network today.

and all the social engineers and enviroweenies in local government would be having kittens as that would encourage sprawl and more people and more cars and more jobs and none of it would be in their tax collection zone...just saying

[LJ]

The Old Island Highway when it was the main corridor, where did it go after Colwood? Did you just continue on to Sooke and then where?

[sdwright.vic]

Went to Sooke... thus 17 Mile House Pup

[Old Esquimalt]

There's a railway roadbed that runs from Deerholme behind Duncan down through the Sooke Lake watershed down to Saseenos and into Victoria through the Western Communities.  The right of way is about 90 feet wide if I remember correctly.  Plenty of space for the Galloping Goose and rail together.

 

As for the Malahat, heavy freight belongs on rails

 

 

Engineers estimate that a fully loaded truck--a five-axle rig weighing 80,000 pounds, the interstate maximum--causes more damage to a highway than 5,000 cars. Some road planners say that the toll is even higher, that it would take close to 10,000 cars to equal the damage caused by one heavy truck. When the trucks are overloaded, as quite a few of them are, the damage is exponentially worse. Increasing a truck's weight to 90,000 pounds results in a 42 percent increase in road wear. Pavement designed to last 20 years wears out in seven.

Edited by Old Esquimalt, 26 May 2018 - 10:29 PM.

[Cassidy]

The Old Island Highway when it was the main corridor, where did it go after Colwood? Did you just continue on to Sooke and then where?

 

The Old Island Highway 1A starts at the old Roundabout downtown, goes out Gorge Road East and West, across the Admirals Bridge, right onto Craigflower Road, left onto Sooke Road.

Right hand turn off Sooke Road onto Goldstream Avenue, then straight alone Goldstream Avenue until it turned into the Island Highway, about 50 feet from what is now the Westshore Parkway entrance off the Island Highway.

 

All the three and four lane stuff that is the current highway from Tillicum Road out to Leigh Road didn't exist but for a bunch of connecting two lane local roads.

 

That Chevron at the corner of Tillicum and the Highway for example, has always been there, but originally as a locals gas station at the intersection of a couple of two lane roads.

 

If you didn't turn at Goldstream, you just continued on Sooke Road as it is today.

The Four Mile and Six Mile pubs were measures on the Old Island Highway - 1A, the 17 Mile was a measure as if you kept driving on Sooke Road - BC14.

Edited by Cassidy, 27 May 2018 - 05:42 AM.

[splashflash]

North of Malahat Village until the 1950s or 1960s did not the highway follow Shawnigan Lake Road?

Here is a through history of laying out and building the route:

http://www.maureendu...lahat-drive.php

http://www.nauticape...lahat Drive.php

[Mike K.]

Oh no way, the old island highway travelled along Shawnigan? Wow.

[LJ]

So basically we have always had the Malahat to contend with.

[Cassidy]

We have, and IMO we always will.

 

They'll keep dumping millions of $$$ into the Malahat until it's pretty nice to drive over ... but they'll still close it down for accidents. The will to construct any sort of detour that makes sense just isn't there ... and I doubt it ever will be.

 

There are lots of ways another route could run, the tales about the Malahat route being the "only" way through the mountains to Mill Bay aren't really that accurate (Goldstream Heights is already 3/4 of the way there! ... and that was built privately by developers, and for relative pennies).

 

Somehow we got a brand new, multi-lane Island Highway from Nanaimo north, but can't do it down here.

Sure, there are a few more mountains to deal with down here ... but it's hardly an engineering project that would be even remotely interesting enough to make it onto a History Channel show ... and perhaps trying to take the road through the mountains to begin with is where this all goes off the tracks.

 

Money and sheer will could solve the issue ... but neither seems to be present when the subject matter is commuting over the Malahat.

 

The Premier's comment about a bridge was just lip service to the days bad news story ... chances of him ever even bringing it up outside of another accident and a subsequent 14 hour closure are slim to none.

 

 

 

[rjag]

Looking at a map its only about a 12km shot from Goldstream straight to the Shawnigan turnoff, so what about moving the road about 750m to 1km to the left of Goldstream and build a straight line double lane to Shawnigan and then close off the old road by the park, make it a simple park access road. Most of the incidents are at Shawnigan turnoff so that would also have the effect of a new intersection at that blackspot.   

 

And for the enviroweeny nimby's its not even close to our watershed

[Cassidy]

Looking at a map its only about a 12km shot from Goldstream straight to the Shawnigan turnoff, so what about moving the road about 750m to 1km to the left of Goldstream and build a straight line double lane to Shawnigan and then close off the old road by the park, make it a simple park access road. 

Or even make the "new" road a one way road South, and the "old" Malahat a one way road North?

If there was a highway closing accident on one route, the still functioning "other" route could become a two way highway as a detour. I know, I know ... such thinking is impossible because ......... well, it's just not right, it's just not easy.

 

There really are quite a few effective solutions with varying costs.

 

As unlikely as it is to ever be more than a glimmer in any Malahat drivers eye, a bridge between Ardmore and Mill Bay still makes the most sense.

A bridge AND a new route from the Westshore up through Leechtown to Shawnigan Lake would be even better.

 

Dreams eh? ... so easy to have!

[Bingo]

They'll keep dumping millions of $$$ into the Malahat until it's pretty nice to drive over ... but they'll still close it down for accidents. The will to construct any sort of detour that makes sense just isn't there ... and I doubt it ever will be.

 

The Premier's comment about a bridge was just lip service to the days bad news story ... chances of him ever even bringing it up outside of another accident and a subsequent 14 hour closure are slim to none.

 

This Premier will probably not be there after the next election.

[malahatdrive]

Horgan on CFax regrading the Malahat

Logo CFAX 1070
Logo CFAX 1070



Solving the transportation woes on the lower island is going to require some review and discussion. That's the latest from BC Premier John Horgan who was on CFAX 1070 this morning.

Horgan says the most recent closure of the Malahat, and the constant bottlenecks for drivers trying to get into Greater Victoria, will require varying approaches -- but exactly which one remains up in the air.

Last week Horgan revived talk of a bridge to the Saanich Peninsula as alternate route to the Malahat -- but now?

" If we were going to put a bridge, which is extremely expensive, and I don't want people to get all worked up that I'm advocating for a bridge. What I'm asking the minister of transportation to do is pull that report off the shelf, update it as quickly as we can, not spend a lot of money on reviewing this again because there's a mountain of work that's been done. And let's talk to the public in the lower island about what's the best way to go forward."

[Hilton]

From my recollection that last study on building a bridge failed to consider the tremendous economic impact a bridge would have on the economy of the Capital Region.  As I see it, it would expand Victoria's economic  hinterland, and specifically the catchment area of the airport.   Right now I can't imagine a lot of people from the Cowichan Valley or Nanaimo driving down the Malahat and then up the peninsula to the airport.  With a bridge across the inlet, that long drive can be eliminated.   Instead of serving a primary market of approximately 350,000 residents Victoria's airport would then realistically be an option for the remaining 200,000 residents of the lower and central island as well.  One can well imagine more flights and more non-stop destinations from Victoria.