Victoria/Mutas Road intersection redesign gets next approval

With a construction date set for the fall of 2016, traffic engineers and the Revelstoke City council are working to get plans for the Victoria Road/Mutas Road intersection upgrade, off the Trans-Canada Highway, approved and ready.

At the June 14 city council meeting, councillors voted unanimously for McElhanney Consulting Services to go ahead with detailed design and tender procurement plans.

The cost for the upgrade has been downgraded for $2.1 million to $1.7 million, and while this is still over budget by $500,000, traffic engineer David Kneeshaw believes it won’t inflate beyond this.

“Personally I feel comfortable that it won’t exceed that,” Kneeshaw said. “I think some of our prices are still conservative.”

There’s potential the price tag may even be reduced, as detailed design work before the procurement stage will tighten the current estimate.

Before the project goes to tender (finding a contractor to carry out the upgrade), the project will again need to be approved by city council.

The anticipated $1.7 million construction design for the upgraded Victoria/Mutas Road intersection. Click to enlarge. Photo: McElhanney Consulting Services

How the intersection will work:

• Roundabout installed at Wright Street in the fall of 2016.

• Upgrade project to be finished in spring 2017.

• Outbound traffic (heading towards the highway from downtown) can access Tim Hortons/Shell on the right via a new slip lane, and McDonald’s/A&W on the left with a left turn lane, without needing to cross the Trans-Canada.

• Inbound traffic (from highway) can turn right into McDonald’s/A&W, but will no longer be able to turn left into Tim Hortons/Shell — traffic will instead have to proceed ahead to the Wright Street roundabout to turn around.

• Woodenhead Loop (the road that carries traffic to McDonald’s/A&W) will continue to be one-way but has a separate entry and exit point.

• Bend Road will stay open. Restricted to one-way at one point but otherwise full movement.

• Bear statues and lamps will stay put where they are.

The final design has not made all residents and local businesses happy but engineers from McElhanney Consulting Services have assured city council that all scenarios and options have been explored, and this is one is the best.

One business impacted by the upgrade is Shell. They are concerned they will lose customers since traffic from the highway will no longer be able to turn left into the gas station. The company voiced their opposition in a letter dated June 14, which threatened legal action.

But at the June 14 city council meeting, director of engineering and development services Mike Thomas said he had since spoken to Shell in a conference call.

“We had a good discussion around all these issues that council has been wrestling with on the matter,” he said. “And [I was] able to explain to Shell where we see community needs and business needs there. I was quite happy with how the conversation went.”

Stakeholders

• The city is hoping the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure (MOTI) will be in favour of current designs. While they do not have control over the city’s plans, their approval may lead to funding for the project. MOTI has been involved throughout the process and the designs are currently with them for review.

• ICBC have looked at plans and will hold a workshop with city staff next week. The city is also hoping they will offer project funds.

Get up-to-date on this story, with the Revelstoke Mountaineer’s past articles.