Pleasant Valley Road in Spallumcheen will have a different look in 2018.
The road from Highway 97A to the boundary with the City of Armstrong is scheduled for a complete overhaul at a cost of more than $4 million.
And a significant fix at the intersection of Spallumcheen Way and Spallumcheen Drive was unveiled to the public at the township office.
More than 40 people attended a four-hour open house on the proposed changes.
“We are trying to get (the project) tendered by late January,” said Kevin Gordon, senior transportation lead with Urban Systems who, along with a colleague, spent the open house explaining the options to the inquiring public.
Option 1 is adding dedicated left turn lanes to the existing intersection at a cost of $110,000.
“We’ve added a through lane from the movement from Spallumcheen Drive towards the highway so it takes it out of the intersection,” said Gordon. “We’ve put in an island with crosswalks. One of the issues is the left turn out from in front of the township hall gets blocked by an existing business when trucks are parked there and you can’t see.”
Option 2 eliminates the left turn out from Spallumcheen Drive in front of the township and the left turn in off of Pleasant Valley Road. Those two movements will be moved to Crozier Road. Option 2 costs $160,000.
Option 3, said Gordon, is the safest, but also the most expensive: creating a roundabout at the intersection for $630,000.
“That’s $630,000 using property they (township) have,” he said. “If we move it anywhere else they have to buy property, move hydro poles and the costs will go higher.”
Through the first 90 minutes of the open house, Gordon said Option 2 was the one popular with residents.
“There is some concern about sight distance at Crozier,” he said.
“People are saying it doesn’t feel good and I sense there are trees or hedges there that we’ll have to look into further. The sight distances are great. People realize we can get rid of the left turn and they can go to Crozier Road, which is a lot easier.
“Option 2 is just as safe as the roundabout except for the left turn into and out of the industrial park, where you have to cross both lanes. But we have provided their own left-turn lane to sit and wait.”