With less than a year to go before scheduled completion, the Sea to Sky Improvement Project is 80 per cent complete Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Kevin Falcon announced Thursday (Jan. 29).
"As you drive from one end to the other, you will see more median barriers to stop cross over accidents, rumble strips and highly reflective lighting as well as a wider shoulders for cyclists," Falcon said.
Falcon also announced that work on the highway is on time and currently under budget.
Falcon made the announcement at Doodson's Corner, which used to be one of the deadliest stretches on the Sea to Sky Highway. A new straight stretch has replaced Doodson's Corner, a sharp curve overlooking Howe Sound.
"As MLA in this region, I know first hand how important this project is for all of the communities in the Sea to Sky Corridor," said MLA Joan McIntyre, who was also on hand for the event.
According to officials, there were 19 deaths on the Sea to Sky highway in a five-year stretch beginning in 2002, including Pemberton resident Shannon Archer, who died Oct. 5. 2005. The Doodson's Corner improvements are part of the province's $600-million highway upgrade project.
"This is a very important milestone because Doodson's Corner was one of the most dangerous corners on the sea to Sky highway," Falcon said. "The completion of this section is a testament to the great work happening."
The Sea to Sky Highway carried about 14,000 vehicles a day in 2007 and there are about 300 accidents a year along the 100-km length from Horseshoe Bay to Whistler. Falcon said the highway project will be finished in the fall with 80 km of new passing lanes.
"The tricky work is now completed and this spring you will see a lot of the paving work going on as we head toward the finish line and completion of the project," said Peter Melbourne, project manager.
The Sea to Sky Highway Improvement Project currently employs about 500 workers and despite criticism, Falcon said the project is a good example of public-private partnerships (P3).
A recent Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) report by Ron Parks claimed that public-private partnerships cost taxpayers more than government-funded projects. In his report Parks states that the Sea to Sky Highway will cost $434.3 million more as a P3 than under the traditional model.
In a traditional model, the government borrows money and hires a contractor to build a project.
"The costs of P3s actually exceed traditional procurement," Parks stated in his report.
In a public-private partnership, the government selects a consortium, which often raises its own financing, designs and builds the project, and operates it for three decades or more.
"So far we have almost two dozen public-private partnerships representing almost $10 billion worth of capital," Falcon said. "Every single one of those projects have been delivered ahead of schedule and on or under budget. The Sea to Sky Highway is the best example of that."
Falcon said the provincial government prefers the P3 model for certain large-scale infrastructure projects because it allows the province to transfer risk and any cost overruns to the private partner.
"The NDP and left wing groups believe that we should build things the way they built the fast ferries, which means the public absorbs all of the risk," Falcon said. "Cheap financing isn't our only consideration when it comes to infrastructure."
Construction of the pedestrian overpass at the Stawamus Chief and roadwork south of Squamish will continue into the spring. Installation of community gateway identification signage will be completed in the spring as well.
