The Coquihalla Highway will be getting a makeover this summer.
A 10-kilometre stretch of road from Merritt’s Coldwater Interchange to Comstock road will be resurfaced, the contract for which was awarded to Peter’s Bros. for $2.8 million.
A 25-kilometre stretch of the Coquihalla Highway from the Logan Lake Interchange to the Afton Overpass will be resurfaced northbound, and southbound a five-kilometre section from the Afton Overpass to the Inks Lake Overpass will be resurfaced as well.
Green Roads Recycling has been contracted for that work, which will also include resurfacing of Highway 1 in both directions between Columbia Street Interchange and the Afton Overpass.
There will also be resurfacing north of Hope from the Snowshed Hill to Coquihalla Lakes. Sixteen kilometres southbound and 14 kilometres northbound will make up the paving.
The Britton Creek rest stop will be resurfaced, and the project is out to tender at the moment.
Work on all these projects is expected to begin in the early months of summer.
Approximately $15 million will be spent on resurfacing the Coquihalla Highway this year.
The provincial government expects to spend $380 million over the next three years to resurface 1,000 kilometres of highways annually.
“These projects to improve the Coquihalla kick off a busy construction season, as we strategically invest in our provincial highway and side-road network,” Transportation Minister Todd Stone said in a press release.
Also on its way to the Coquihalla Highway are variable speed limit pilot projects. They will be located along the Sea to Sky Highway between Vancouver and Whistler, and west of Revelstoke around the Coquihalla Highway’s snowshed. The variable speed limits will be operational by next winter.
Using signs and sensors in the road that are tied to the ministry’s traffic-management centre in Coquitlam, speed limits will be adjusted to adapt to driving conditions such as heavy rain and snow.
