Major work on provincially-owned roads in the Cowichan Lake area will soon be undertaken.
Ian Morrison, the Cowichan Valley Regional District’s director for Cowichan Lake South/Skutz Falls, said the province has committed to repairing and upgrading an approximately six-kilometre section of the Pacific Marine Circle Route, from the Robertson River Bridge to the front gate of Gordon Bay Provincial Park, this year.
Morrison said that section of road, with its many potholes and uneven sections, has been a source of complaints from the local residents for years.
He said transit buses and emergency vehicles must slow down to less than 30 kilometres an hour to safely make their way through the many hazards on the road.
“Logging trucks regularly beat up the road, and then during the summer season, the road is always full of boat trailers, RVs and monster vehicles which also have to contend with the narrow and rough roadway,” Morrison said.
“There has been lots of near misses on the road over the years, and the local people have all but abandoned cycling, walking and doing other activities along the route.”
Morrison said he had begun intensive conversations with the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure on the issue last year, and those discussions are now paying off.
He said ministry staff made a site visit to the road section on March 26 to begin plans for the work and plan a budget.
“They said work will begin this year and the ministry staff have indicated that they would like to incorporate opportunities for hiking, walking and cycling into the road’s upgrades,” Morrison said.
“The side roads are not part of the planned work, other than upgrades to Swinburne Road, which badly needs work and is about one-half a kilometre long,” Morrison said.
“There has been safety concerns raised around the entrance of Gordon Bay Provincial Park being only accessible through a residential neighbourhood, so the ministry will explore other entrance points as part of this work as well.”
Morrison said the washout area on the roadway along Beaver Creek will also be permanently fixed by the ministry, with work on that project beginning any day.
“The roads involved are the province’s responsibility, but I tend to spend a lot of time dealing with safety issues on them on behalf of my constituents,” he said.
“It’s good to see work finally beginning on some of these road sections.”
robert.barron@cowichanvalleycitizen.com
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