Islanders may do a double-take in the coming week, as a temporary second work zone is expected to snarl traffic further on Salt Spring Island’s busiest road.
The Fulford-Ganges Road improvement project will be joined by an additional single-lane alternating-traffic section, according to a special notice issued Friday, Oct. 11 from contractors Northridge Excavating Ltd., who said the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure (MoTI) had identified a need for further exploratory work.
“Unfortunately, this work was unexpected,” said project manager Bob Mitchell, “but has to be done in a timely manner –– hence the short notice.”
The second work zone begins Tuesday, Oct 15 and will run through Friday, Oct. 18. Mitchell said having two work zones will increase the chance of traffic delays. Both zones will be in operation from 7:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m.
The 1.6-kilometre stretch of Fulford-Ganges Road from Seaview Avenue to Cranberry Road — known locally as Ganges Hill — is expected to be completed by November 2025; MoTI officials have said 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.