The Capital Region’s building boom is delaying yet another planned road improvement.
Langford had hoped to have added a second left-turn lane (southbound toward Victoria) to the Millstream overpass by Sept. 4, but is now deferring the project because the lone bid for works such as paving, concrete work and line-painting came in 25 per cent over budget.
The project will be re-tendered in the fall, with construction targeted to begin in spring 2018, said Langford director of engineering Michelle Mahovlich.
The hope is construction activity might cool, resulting in more competitive bids for the work, she said.
“There’s a lot going on. Even in the City of Langford we, alone, . . . have seven kilometres of major collector road under construction now between the West Shore Parkway and the Bear Mountain Parkway projects.
“So even just within our own city we have a lot of construction going on and, of course, there’s the housing boom.”
The planned improvements also include fully extended sidewalks, bike lanes and signalized pedestrian crossings.
Currently, the left-turn lane regularly backs up, especially during busy shopping hours at nearby big-box stores.
Mahovlich said there is an alternative access and egress to the back of the Costco parking lot.
“We really encourage [motorists], especially people going to the Costco store, to utilize the McCallum Road connector,” she said, adding that many motorists don’t realize there is an upper driveway at Costco.
“You can go in and out of the store through the back way to the parking near the back of the store. Then, when you come out, you can turn left and go to the Leigh Road interchange from there,” Mahovlich said.
When completed, the West Shore Parkway will provide an alternative travel choice for vehicles using the Millstream overpass to access Sooke Road, while the completion of a second access through the Bear Mountain Parkway extension will provide alternative access to both the Bear Mountain and South Skirt Mountain Development Areas, she said.
The building boom has already seen at least two transportation projects delayed in Victoria.
This month, the city put the construction of two pedestrian bridges along the David Foster Harbour Pathway on hold after the only bid to build them came in $1 million over budget.
Last year, the city put off the start of its new 1.2-kilometre separated bike lane on Pandora Avenue because of a lack of competitive bids.
The new Pandora cycle track opened recently at a cost of $3.4 million.
