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Hairpin curve under review after latest off-road plunge

Highway 101
crash
The same spot below a hairpin curve in the 12000 block of Highway 101 where vehicles plunged down an embankment in November of last year (left) and late last month.

Traffic engineers will be reviewing the hairpin curve on Highway 101 north of Middlepoint following a second harrowing motor vehicle accident in less than a year, the provincial Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure (MOTI) told Coast Reporter Tuesday.

The aim of the review will be “to determine if there are any feasible options to improve safety at this location,” the ministry said in a statement.

Located in the 12000 block of Highway 101, the curve was the scene of an accident late last month when a southbound vehicle left the road and plunged down an embankment, landing on its roof. In a similar incident in November last year, a Surrey woman was partly submerged in her SUV when it plunged down the embankment into a fast-moving creek. Neither driver was seriously injured, but the 2016 incident required a dramatic high-angle rescue to free the woman trapped in her SUV.

The ministry said installing a concrete barrier would be “challenging” due to the curve of the road, which would have to be widened while the existing retaining wall would have to be rebuilt.

“That is why we are looking at alternative barrier solutions – and additional signage – to improve the safety of this stretch.”

Sharp curve warning signs are currently located at both ends of the curve, along with a posted 30 km/h warning sign.

Asked for a specific example of an alternative barrier solution, the ministry said it “is looking at flex beam barriers – a type of metal roadside safety barrier – as a possible solution which wouldn’t require reconfiguring or widening the highway. This type of barrier is installed on Highway 101 near Ruby Lake.”

Although no timeline for the review or improvements was available, the ministry said it will “work closely with local government to ensure their input is provided into this review and will share any results once our review is complete.”  

Coast Reporter contacted MOTI after a family member of the latest accident victim wrote to the Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) demanding action before “one or more of our community members or visitors dies, is seriously injured, psychologically scarred, or loses a loved one (or two or three) – like my family almost did with this latest accident.”

Asking to remain anonymous to protect the identity of the driver, the woman said the day of the accident “could have easily been the worst day of my family’s life. Instead, our loved one survived shaken, in shock, but alive and recovering.”

She credited a woman who stopped to help after the accident, calling her an “angel” who “is part of our family lore now.”

MOTI, which is responsible for highways and all roads in the SCRD, opened its statement to Coast Reporter: “Our thoughts are with those affected by this incident along Highway 101 in Pender Harbour last week.”