Expect delays, plan ahead and slow down on Fulford-Ganges Road, officials said — and all signs point to the end being just around the corner.
Contractors for the now year-long Fulford-Ganges Road improvement project said work is underway on the thus-far incomplete and final section near the road’s intersection with Seaview Avenue, at the construction zone’s northern edge — and that “significant” impacts on traffic are expected there starting Oct. 9, excluding weekends.
And that last stretch will see paving starting Oct. 20, according to Northridge Excavating Ltd. project manager Bob Mitchell, as will the intersection with Cranberry Road at the other end of the project.
But barring unforeseen events, Mitchell said, that should mark the end of serious interruptions on Salt Spring Island’s busiest road.
“We will do our best to minimize traffic impacts each day,” said Mitchell in an update Wednesday, Oct. 1. “October 24 will be the completion of all major paving works on Fulford-Ganges. Further works will be pavement marking, signage and general clean-up; we do not foresee any further significant chronic traffic impacts after the major paving is complete.”
Minor work “tidying up and putting finishing touches” on the project will continue into November, Mitchell said.
Until then, crews will generally be in place Monday through Friday between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m., Mitchell said, adding that the posted speed limit through the entire project — from Cranberry Road to Seaview Avenue — remains 30 km/hr.
The Fulford-Ganges Road Project is a $22.9-million effort, chiefly focused on the Ganges Hill section, where Ministry of Transportation and Transit officials have said work would include stormwater improvements, resurfacing, widening and paved shoulders for pedestrians and cyclists.
I’m sure I’m not the first to suggest this sort of question for the weekly poll: “Do you feel planning and execution of the Fulford-Ganges Road improvement was adequate?” – Obviously, a question for sometime in December. Thanks