In an unexpected move, the B.C. government has promised to study the feasibility of a Highway 101 bypass on the lower Sunshine Coast.
The province has also committed to undertake safety upgrades at the intersection of Joe Road/Orange Road and Highway 101 after identifying it as “collision-prone.”
Infrastructure Services Minister Claire Trevena made the announcements in a release announcing the completion of a corridor review between Gibsons and Sechelt and the actions planned as a result of its findings.
“[We] want to study the possibility of a Gibsons bypass or alternative route, as we know this is something that is important to many who live in the area,” said Trevena in the Sept. 4 release.
It says the study of a bypass or alternative route between Gibsons and Sechelt will include public consultation starting in 2021.
In March 2019 Powell River-Sunshine Coast MLA Nicholas Simons, along with members of the Highway 101 Society, presented a petition signed by 6,500 people at the B.C. legislature demanding a bypass and safety improvements to the highway, referencing a study that was conducted about 30 years ago laying out a plan for a bypass.
But those appeals appeared to fall on deaf ears. In a letter responding to the highway society, Trevena told the group a review of traffic volumes “did not support the significant cost to build this highway.”
In the Sept. 4 release announcing the province’s commitment to revisit the bypass idea, Simons said “a safe, efficient Highway 101 is essential for people who live, work and travel on the Sunshine Coast.”
He added: “There are many opinions about how a bypass or alternative route could improve highway travel, and I look forward to leading public consultation in the coming year as we explore this idea further.”
Other actions resulting from the study include installing protected left-turn lanes in both directions at the Joe Road/Orange Road section of the highway in Roberts Creek. The release described it as “one of the most collision-prone locations in the study area” and “one of the busiest unsignalized intersections between Gibsons and Sechelt,” since it connects drivers to Lower Road and many residential properties are located on both sides of the highway.
In addition to the left-turning lanes, MOTI will be making “adjustments to the overall geometry of the intersection.”
Those improvements are expected to occur next summer.
The study can be found here.
