Otter Point Road update in works

A two-kilometre stretch of Otter Point Road will be upgraded as part of the province’s $10-million upgrade to Highway 14, which connects Langford to Sooke and Port Renfrew.

Otter Point Road is a key access point for Highway 14 and an important alternate route when the highway is closed, the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure said this morning.

“Over my years as MLA, I have heard many safety concerns from the community about Otter Point Road, and many suggestions on how to make it better for people,” said Premier John Horgan, MLA for Langford-Juan de Fuca. “These upgrades will help keep drivers, cyclists and pedestrians moving safely.’

Work will include widening the shoulders and re-paving the road between the Otter Point municipal boundary and Kemp Lake Road.

The ministry will provide a cost and schedule for the upgrades after survey and design work is complete.

“Community input has been vital to enabling the ministry to get to work quickly on planning work for safety improvements on Otter Point Road, and I look forward to continuing this engagement on more essential upgrades to the Highway 14 corridor,” Minister of Transportation Claire Trevena said in a statement.

The improvements to Highway 14 include transit pullouts and a queue-jump lane for buses at Jacklin Road, new safety signs, a pullout for slow-moving vehicles east of east of Muir Creek, between Sooke and French Beach, a new Gillespie Road two-lane bridge and upgrades to the Sooke River Road intersection.