MOT rejects plan, but District Transportation Committee recommends it for long-term
John French
Chief Staff Writer
The Ministry of Transportation (MOT) has a plan on the books to create a bypass that would let Whistler-bound motorists drive right around Squamish.
And while the MOT has rejected the plan for the current upgrade of Hwy. 99, the District of Squamish's Select Committee on Transportation, Infrastructure and Planning (SCTIP) supports the concept of one day having a highway bypass around the eastern side of Squamish.
The committee has recommended that council identify the bypass as the town's preferred option for long-term highway upgrades and has suggested land issues along the proposed route be dealt with.
The committee was inspired by a plan that has been dropped by the Ministry of Transportation. In 2002, MOT was exploring various route options for the Sea to Sky Highway in the Squamish area and one option was a long bypass from the Stawamus River, up into the hills east of the Garibaldi Highlands, east of Alice Lake, east of Cake Lake and then linking back to the existing highway just south of Brohm Lake.
Peter Milburn, the Sea to Sky Highway Project Manager, told The Chief that the long bypass was presented in the very early planning stages; however, the project team determined through consultation that the best option for the current upgrade is to work with the current highway alignment.
Milburn said said his team is currently developing options around what the intersections can look like. As part of the current work, survey crews are on the highway taking measurements for the engineers to use in putting together the possible options.
"We've probably got about 60 days of work before we move to the next public consultation." Milburn said.
Other issues that are being discussed include details of where median barriers will be included what type of median is most appropriate.
"The next step in terms of news is probably when we've got these options together," said Milburn.
The Sea to Sky Highway Improvement project team calls the current stage of work the preliminary design stage.
While that detailed work is being done, the SCTIP wants to keep the long bypass option alive for future consideration.
The long bypass, if it is ever built, will give drivers the option of using the current highway or taking a bypass that completely avoids the downtown area of Squamish and the other commercial areas of Squamish.
A MOT draft map from 2002 shows the bypass breaking away from the current route just south of the Stawamus River and following the river up the existing MacBlo logging road. The proposed route crosses the Stawamus just downstream of the district's Stawamus water intake. From that point route climbs up then drops down to cross the Mamquam River and climb back up the hill to skirt the eastern edge of the university lands to then parallel with the Mashiter River. The map indicates a bridge over the Mashiter and the proposed bypass following an alignment similar to the power lines that run above Alice Lake Provincial Park and Cat Lake. The proposed bypass and the existing highway meet in the area just south of the Cat Lake turnoff.
Council discussed the recommendation from the SCTIP and noted that the bypass won't sit well with downtown business operators.
The MOT draft map suggests that if the bypass were built, about 5,000 vehicles would use the bypass the full bypass in 2026 while between 14,000 and 29,000 vehicles a day might use the existing route.
Council endorsed most of the motion presented by the committee. The long term thinking of the SCTIP was supported as council agreed that land issues for a future bypass need addressing. However council didn't want to select the bypass as the preferred long-term option as council felt all highway options need to be considered at this time.
