The realignment of Highway 14 between Connie and Glinz Lake roads in Sooke will begin this fall, say B.C. Transportation Ministry officials.
The $85.7-million project will see a 1.5-kilometre stretch of Highway 14 converted to a divided four-lane highway. The project also includes a new “park and ride” lot at Gillespie Road, and 10 kilometres of pavement resurfacing and shoulder widening between Otter Point and Woodhaven roads.
The work will start at Connie Road and see the road rerouted behind the 17 Mile House Pub and merge back to Highway 14 at Glinz Lake Road.
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The design for the Highway 14 Realignment Project has been updated following feedback from people who live and work in the Sooke area. The Consultation Summary Report was released last week.
The project design was open for public feedback last winter, where 150 people attended an open house in Sooke. The ministry also received more than 200 submissions online, by email, and letter.
“Public comment was very important with the updated plan,” said Janelle Straite, deputy director of the South Coast region for the Transportation Ministry.
“It made us look at a few things differently.”
Public input has led to the following updates to the design of the Connie Road to Glinz Lake Road portion of the project:
• A new pedestrian underpass will be added to Highway 14 just east of Glinz Lake Road and Polymede Place.
• New eastbound and westbound bus bays will be added to Highway 14 at Glinz Lake Road and Polymede Place to better serve transit users.
• The proposed Cooper’s Cove U-turn has been removed. Instead, a connector road between Manzer Road and Gillespie Road will allow Manzer Road residents access and egress from the highway via the new Gillespie Road grade-separated intersection.
• This connector will provide an alternative emergency detour connection for Highway 14 between Glinz Lake Road and Gillespie Road.
• Culvert sizes will be increased to accommodate crossings of amphibians and mammals.
• Median barriers with road-level holes will be strategically placed to help keep small mammals from being trapped on the highway.
• Approximately 30 streetlights will be added near side-road intersections to improve visibility for drivers.
