Work is getting underway this week on safety improvements to Highway 97 (Front Street) that will improve traffic flow for people travelling in Quesnel.

The project will realign the road from just north of the Moffat Bridge to approximately 200 metres north of River Park Road. This will accommodate one lane northbound and one lane southbound, with left-turn slots at controlled intersections.

Work will also include the construction of concrete islands and upgrading to LED lights at the intersections of Carson, St. Laurent, Shepherd and McNaughton avenues. The contract was awarded to Eagle Rock Construction of Kamloops. Work is expected to be completed later this fall.

In conjunction with the Front Street safety improvements, work is also underway to relocate the traffic signal from the Carson Avenue/Reid Street intersection to the McLean Street intersection.

This project was highlighted in the Quesnel Transportation Study, which determined that the existing traffic signal on Carson Avenue at Reid Street is under-utilized. This signal serves only one-way traffic northbound on Reid Street, and two-way traffic to only a few businesses south of the intersection.

The McLean Street intersection, further east on Carson Avenue, has stop signs on the side street approaches, which causes heavier traffic volumes and delays. Moving the traffic signal to this location will reduce congestion and positively impact the entire Highway 97 corridor through Quesnel.

The Quesnel Transportation Study also analyzed the area from the Highway 97/Barkerville Highway junction to Basalt Road in the Quesnel area. Other actions the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure will take include:

• Advancing design work this fall for safety improvements in the Racing Road/Hydraulic Road area of Highway 97. This project will involve consolidating access to the highway and installing a traffic signal with full-access movement along this section of highway. Additional community engagement is planned as part of this design phase.
• Engineering work to further investigate the proposed North-South Interconnector route, which received significant support in public engagement. This will help enable the ministry to build a business case for future funding.

Learn More:

The completed Quesnel Transportation Study is available here: www.gov.bc.ca/quesneltransportationstudy