Plans for road construction this summer on Salt Spring Island are becoming clearer, and a submission for tenders expiring Friday, June 21 reveals some detail surrounding likely improvements to “Ganges Hill” — Fulford-Ganges Road between Seaview Avenue and Cranberry Road.
Island residents have been repeatedly warned to prepare for traffic disruptions this summer, as significant surface improvements will be accompanied by the installation of a closed storm-sewer drainage system and new culverts.
The project envisions resurfacing and widening of 1.6 kilometres of the two-lane rural road, highlighted by the construction of 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, according to Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure (MoTI) tender documents.
Undated technical drawings included in MoTI tender packages also specify a pedestrian crossing marked below a paint-delineated “narrowing” of Fulford-Ganges Road below Seaview, with a thermoplastic zebra crossing flanked by new median markings. Another crossing, but without accompanying traffic calming, will be marked just uphill (south) of the Fulford-Ganges intersection with Beddis and Charlesworth roads.
A notable change also envisioned at the Beddis/Charlesworth intersection calls for relocating a notorious utility pole there, and removing the island that sits in the middle of the first few metres of Beddis Road. Fresh white lines to indicate to cross traffic where to stop, combined with a narrowing of Beddis Road at the turn, should clear up long-time disagreements about whether southbound traffic turning left onto Beddis should turn before or after drivers turning right off Beddis onto Fulford-Ganges — with “after” prevailing, as the former path will no longer be present.
A significant geotechnical investigation and environmental assessment took place, and reports on both were completed late last year, according to the ministry. Assuming a successful bidding process, MoTI has said construction is expected to begin this summer.
Awesome, I’m glad to see the Beddis/Charlesworth intersection flow is going to be clarified/improved.
I would love to see the other drawings in this set. Hopefully they are available publicly somewhere.