No emergency detour routes will be constructed for the Malahat, according to a report from the provincial government.
After reviewing a report on building potential alternate routes in the event of a long-term closure of the Malahat, the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure determined that none of the seven proposed routes are feasible.
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All of the routes were found to have environmental, engineering, property, and/or community disruption impacts. Two of the proposed detours were taken forward for capital cost assessment, and estimates were found to range from $30 – $180 million.
“Due to these community and environmental impacts, the focus of the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure will remain on improving safety on the existing Highway 1 route, so incidents that result in longer closures can be limited,” reads a statement from the Ministry.
According to the province, long-term Malahat closures occur relatively infrequently at a rate of 1.1 incidents per year.
There have been seven closures on the highway that lasted longer than four hours since 2009.
