McKenzie interchange construction won't worsen Victoria commute, province says

The Ministry of Transportation says upcomingconstruction work for the McKenzie interchange will not involve any lane closures during peak travel times.

The new$85-millioninterchangejust outside Victoria is aimed at easing theworst traffic snarl on Vancouver Island.It can take upwards of an hour to go a fewkilometres during the rush-hourcrawlto and from communitieson the region's west shore.

• Province aims to solve Victoria's Colwood Crawl with McKenzie interchange

The first phase of construction through the winter months will be carried out with an eye to keeping traffic movingor at least not increasing the congestion that already exists, saidJanelle Erwin, regional deputy director for the Ministry of Transportation.

"What we want to do is maximize predictability for commuters," she said."We are going to work outside of those peak periods where people are travelling on the Highway 1 corridor."

The construction plan will avoidlane closures between 5:30 a.m. and 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Sundays andstatutory holidays are also off limits for affecting traffic flow, Erwin said.

'It's got to be somewhat disruptive'

But even with strategic timing for lane closures, it's hard to believe that the construction won't affect commuters, saidColwood Mayor Carol Hamilton.

"It's got to be somewhat disruptive," she said. "I just hope that people have a lot of patience."

Preventing drivers from slowing down to rubberneck at the construction site as they drive by could be the source of some delays, Erwin said.

"What we are encouraging people to do is to make sure that they are not stopping to take a look at the excavators or the other equipment."

Hamilton said she hopes the province will consider alternative forms of transportation tokeep people off the Trans-Canada if the interchange construction does prove to be disruptive, such as temporary passenger service on the oldE&N rail line.

Nighttimeclosures

Construction work during nighttimehours on the McKenzie interchange might require stoppingtraffic for between15 and30 minutes at a time. Advance notice will be provided in those cases, the province said.

Some speed limits in the area may also have to be lowered to ensure worker safety at certain points during the project,Erwin said.

Construction on the first phase of the project will includerelocation ofa water main anda new pedestrian and cycling bridge for the Galloping Goose trail.There will also be some blasting, she said.

Traffic delays could crop up during the second phase when lanes on the highway will be shifted for the construction of on-ramps for the interchange, she added.

A traffic management plan for that phase of construction has yet to be completed.