Crews set to start work on Salt Spring Island’s busiest route are already on-island, kicking off construction on Fulford-Ganges Road south of Ganges in earnest on Monday, Sept. 9.
Environmental protection systems are being placed in advance of road work, according to Northridge Excavating Ltd. project manager Bob Mitchell, and drivers may have already seen some crew members out last week. Traffic control personnel will be on hand to guide alternating one-lane traffic on weekdays between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., he added, after which Fulford-Ganges Road will largely be back to normal until work begins the next day.
“You’ll see some road plates, there might be flashing barricades and in certain sections you’ll need to go slower,” said Mitchell. “But it’s all going to be well marked.”
The 1.6-kilometre stretch of Fulford-Ganges Road from Seaview Avenue to Cranberry Road — known locally as Ganges Hill — will see both underground and surface work, expected to be completed by November 2025, according to a public notice from Northridge. Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure (MoTI) officials have said the Vancouver Island-based contractors will be resurfacing and widening the road as part of the $22.9-million project, with improvements including paved shoulders for pedestrians and cyclists — a 1.2-metre-wide shoulder heading north (or downhill into Ganges) and 1.8 metres in the southbound direction, as well as pedestrian crossings and refuge areas.
Mitchell said his team would work toward keeping traffic disruptions over the coming months well under the 20-minute delays ministry officials warned of early in project planning, and that they would be in close communication with people living along the route — particularly when there might be the potential for disruption on the roadway in front of them.
“We’re going to be sensitive to people’s needs,” said Mitchell, “especially as everyone starts to get into the flow of things. We’ll be out visiting with people well in advance.”
The company works on Salt Spring often, Mitchell said. A local excavator was out with his machine last week and Mitchell said they plan to continue to make use of local services. Planners have been in communication with groups such as BC Transit and emergency services, to ensure disruption for those users is minimal. Gulf Islands School District director of operations Colin Whyte said Northridge had been in “very recent” contact with the district, and given the planned road work hours he anticipated minimal delays for school buses.
“We’re certainly watching it very closely,” said Whyte. “If we need to make adjustments, we’ll send out notices to parents and students, to make sure we are doing everything we can to get everybody to school — and home — on time.”