By Steve Hubrecht
[email protected]
The TransCanada Highway is closed between Field and Golden again, with all traffic rerouted through the Columbia Valley. RCMP are beefing up their presence on the detour to deal with the expected dramatic increase in vehicles here.
The closure began on Tuesday, Oct. 12 and will last until Wednesday, Dec. 1., and is part of the Kicking Horse Canyon project, which will eventually see the national highway ‘twinned’ (i.e. two lanes in each direction) through the Kicking Horse Canyon between Field and Golden. In the meantime, for much of this fall, TransCanada traffic will detour south to Radium along Highway 93, then north up Highway 95 to Golden, where it will rejoin the national highway.
A similar closure this past spring sent traffic levels soaring in the northern half of the Columbia Valley (where the detour goes), and numerous accidents were reported.
“There has been many reports of dangerous driving to the RCMP during the various stages of the recent rerouting and police will be enhancing their presence on the highway to ensure of the public’s safety and to enforce the Motor Vehicle Act,” says Columbia Valley RCMP Sergeant Darren Kakuno in a press release. “With the ever changing road conditions in mountainous terrain, we are asking the public to be mindful on the road and be prepared in case of delays.”
This fall’s closure comes during a time of year that typically sees more snow and generally trickier driving conditions than what detoured drivers dealt with during the April and May closure earlier this year.
The closed stretch of the TransCanada normally carries 10,000 vehicles daily, and consequently the Columbia Valley RCMP, in conjunction with B.C. Highway Patrol offices in Golden and Cranbrook are increasing patrols on Highway 93 and Highway 95 in an effort to keep them safe.
“There are new members out there now,” Kakuno says to the Pioneer, adding that the increased police presence comes from extra provincial funding, during the closure, to the Cranbrook and Golden Highway Patrol offices (the Columbia Valley’s RCMP detachment is a general duty detachment, not a highway patrol office). Those offices and the Columbia Valley RCMP “are working together to ensure there is always a presence on those highways.”
Police officers are paying extra attention to aggressive driving and speed limits on both roads and are reminding the public to allow plenty of time for their travels, have the required tires for their vehicles, and have an emergency preparedness bag in their vehicles case of further closure.
