Highway 1 to close at Kicking Horse Canyon

A 4.8-kilometre stretch of Highway 1 will be closed for five weeks at Kicking Horse Canyon this spring in order to allow work crews to proceed with excavation, clearing, hauling and other work the Ministry of Transportation says cannot be carried out safely without a long interruption.

From April 12 to May 14, traffic on Highway 1 from Golden to Castle Junction will be routed via highways 93 and 95, adding up to 11/2 hours to travel time.

The route will be opened to local and commuter traffic for two half-hour periods each day, at 7 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., with a pilot vehicle guiding traffic. Similar escorts will be provided for school buses at 6:45 a.m. and 3:15 p.m.

The closure is part of a traffic-management strategy “designed to minimize travel disruptions during the peak summer and winter travel periods by having as much work as possible done at night and other offpeak periods,” according to a notice from the ministry.

Kicking Horse Canyon is the main east-west connection between B.C. and Alberta and carries more than 10,000 vehicles per day during the summer.

The construction marks the fourth and final phase of a project to upgrade the Trans-Canada Highway between Golden and Yoho National Park to a “modern 100-kilometre per hour standard” with four lanes, which the Ministry estimates could lead to a 66 per cent reduction in overall collisions.

In addition to improved safety and an expected reduction in travel time along the route, the upgrade should reduce the potential for avalanches and rockfalls to reach vehicles or close the highway.

Fencing and animal crossings will also help reduce wildlife collisions and provide wildlife with free movement to access important habitats.

The final phase is expected to be completed in the winter of 2023-24 and has an estimated budget of $601 million.