Recently a Sooke News Mirror letter-writer asked the incoming Sooke council to make the upgrading of Highway 14 its priority. It’s important to let our elected officials spend their resources on things they have control over. Sooke council has no control over Highway 14.
Highways are the responsibility of the province. We are fortunate that Premier John Horgan is the elected representative with control over the upgrade and maintenance of Highway 14.
If we really want the road improved, Premier Horgan is the one to do it.
Immediately after the last election a study of Highway 14 magically appeared and we got some much needed relief in the form of some new lines on the road a few bus pullouts and some shelters. So we should just be quiet and happy that we got something. Knowing a bit about how fast governments move, I suspect those upgrades were already in the works by some previous government.
What we really need is to extend the four-lane highway from Langford to Port Renfrew. This should be what the public is asking for right now. We could rename it Horgan’s Way!
If we can’t get better roads and transportation now, while John Horgan is the premier, we will forever be the backwater of B.C. Estimated cost of this road would be about $400 million.
To put that into some perspective, the McKenzie interchange will cost about $100 million (just one interchange), the Johnson Street bridge cost about $105 million (just one bridge). Based on these numbers, 70 kilometers of new highway in the premier’s riding is really nothing very special.
Let’s get our road built before the next election. Send your letters and emails to the premier, not the mayor.
Rick Fonger
Sooke
