Work will begin this fall on twinning a treacherous stretch of the Trans-Canada Highway in Yoho National Park.
In March, the federal government announced $85.9 million in the 2016 budget for twinning a portion of the highway – where there’s a history of serious vehicle collisions and where numerous wildlife species, including grizzly bears, have been struck and killed.
Parks Canada this week announced six kilometres from the Alberta-B.C. border to the top of the Field hill will become a four-lane highway, and work will begin on environmental assessments and engineering design for the other 40 km through Yoho.
Officials say the twinning project aims to make that stretch of highway, which is often closed due to extremely windy and icy conditions in winter, safer for motorists. It also intends to reduce wildlife mortality and allow for safe transportation of commercial goods.
“As traffic volumes and accidents and people and wildlife mortality increase, it warrants further expansion of the highway,” said Terry McGuire, project manager for the Trans-Canada Highway twinning project.
“We have a deadline of March 2018 to be completed. A lot of the work will be undertaken over the course of the fall and next year. We’re working under pretty tight timelines.”
The six-km stretch of twinned highway will include one 60-metre overpass just east of the Lake O’Hara turnoff and three underpasses to help with wildlife movement and connectivity. A wildlife exclusion fence will also be built.
“We’re providing for wildlife movement across the highway for many species such as grizzly bears,” McGuire said.
“The overpass is also going to be very close to an existing goat lick. We have an habituated herd of goats that come down and use the lick.”
In anticipation of federal dollars coming to twin six km in Yoho, Parks Canada began work in 2011 on an environmental assessment.
“There was consultation at the time and all of the same kinds of issues and mitigations were identified,” McGuire said.
“After five years, we’ve confirmed mitigations being proposed were still valid.”
