Highway 1 road closures in the Kicking Horse Canyon (between Golden and Banff) are expected with single lane closures effective March 1, short term closures starting March 15 and long-term closures starting April 12, 2021.
Kicking Horse Canyon Constructors will begin with up to 2-hour daytime closures and up to 9-hour nighttime (10 pm to 7 am) starting the middle of March and a one-month extended closure of the Trans-Canada Highway from April 12 to May 14, 2021. Extended multi-day closures are also expected from May 17 – 31, except weekends and the Victoria Day holiday. During extended and overnight closures, through traffic on Highway 1 between Golden to Castle Junction will be routed via highways 93 and 95, which will add up to 1.5 hours of travel time. Roadside signage will provide advance notification of the closure, and alternative routes will have signage.
Effective March 1, 2021, the Kicking Horse Canyon Constructors will also begin to implement single lane closures as follows:
- Single lane alternating traffic from March 1 to March 5, from March 8 to March 12 and on March 20 and March 27, 2021
- Hours of work are Monday to Friday and on Saturdays, during 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
- Lane closures will not be in effect during peak periods from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
- 30-minute travel delays due to single-lane alternating traffic at the construction site are expected each day
- Emergency Service Vehicles will be given priority to pass through lane closures when necessary
Please find the intermittent lane closures notification issued for March 2021 here.
During the extended closure, a pass system will allow local commuters and essential local traffic to be escorted through the construction zone during two brief peak-period windows. Similar escorts will be provided for school buses so students will have uninterrupted access to school. Emergency vehicles in response mode will be provided escorted passage on short notice. Details of the pass system are expected to be outlined on the project website by mid-March.
The timing of the extended closure is intended to minimize travel disruptions during the peak summer and winter travel periods by having as much work as possible done at night and other off-peak periods.
This construction is the fourth and final phase of the Kicking Horse Canyon Project, which aims to help people travel more safely and efficiently by realigning and widening a section of the Trans-Canada Highway east of Golden. Along with 4.8 kilometres of four-laning the highway, improvements will include snow avalanche and rock fall mitigation, as well as wildlife exclusion fencing.
BCTA encourages members who will be affected by highway closures related to the Kicking Horse Canyon Project to join our Kicking Horse Canyon Committee, which meets regularly with Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure representatives to receive project updates. The next Kicking Horse Canyon Committee Meeting is on April 8, 2021 from 1:00-3:00PM. To join the BCTA Kicking Horse Canyon Committee, please e-mail Cory Paterson, BCTA vice president, at coryp@bctrucking.com.
Please find the first extended closure notification issued for April 2021 here.
Additionally, project updates can also be found on DriveBC (found here), the Kicking Horse Canyon construction/traffic notification site found here, and by signing up to receive the Kicking Horse Canyon newsletter here.
For more information on this project, visit: www.kickinghorsecanyon.ca
