A 1.25-kilometre section of Highway 1 between Leigh Road and West Shore Parkway in Langford will have reflective delineators installed, starting Monday. File photo.
A section of Highway 1 in Langford that has been the subject of demands for safety improvements will see a short-term fix.
B.C.’s transportation ministry says a 1.25-kilometre section of the Trans Canada Highway, between Leigh Road and West Shore Parkway, will have median reflective “picket” delineators installed beginning Monday night.
The province says a total of 250 delineators will be installed and nightly lane closures will go into effect starting at 8 p.m., ending by 6 a.m. The delineators are yellow in colour with a yellow base and are designed with a rubber tube material. Each delineator is 91 centimetres tall and will be secured to the highway. The province says structures are engineered to be firm, but flexible on contact and used as a visual tool to guide traffic.
Work is expected to take three nights to complete and the ministry says the reflective posts will act as a “clear and visible cue” for drivers to help from crossing the centre line, regardless of driving conditions.
An example of delineators from the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure. The ministry said this is not an exact replica of the type of delineator or the five metre spacing that will be used for the project.
The section of highway has seen two fatal crashes early this year, less than a month apart, and many have joined in a call for barriers to be installed.
“As the Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure, nothing is more important to me than public safety. One death on our roads is one too many,” Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Claire Trevana said in a statement.
“Today, I am making good on a commitment I made to the parents of Mr. Lindenau and the travelling public with the installation of immediate short-term safety measures along this corridor. These pickets will help guide traffic and boost highway safety, especially during bad weather conditions and at night. I have also instructed staff to finalize the details of long-term safety measures that will include constructing four lanes through this stretch, with median barriers. I expect to share details on this work in the near future.”
The Liberal government announced in 2016 that barriers would be installed and the road widened, but work still hasn’t started.
Langford Mayor Stew Young said he wanted to see improvements immediately, and that he’s had enough of studies and talk.
A man in his 70s died in a head-on collision Jan. 8, then another crash claimed the life of 24-year-old Thomas Lindenau on Feb. 3.
The province said Monday morning that it expects to have more details later this spring on its commitment to expand that section of highway to four lanes with median barriers.
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