A promised 4.8-kilometre section of highway upgrades between Field Road and the Construction Aggregates conveyor belt in Sechelt has been postponed by the Ministry of Transportation.
"Rising property costs mean we can't do the project this year," said Ministry of Transportation (MOT) spokesperson Geoff Knight, referring to the land expropriation needed to widen the highway. "In this case, the property costs are substantially higher than when the projects were first proposed."
The plan, to widen the road, put in left turn lanes and establish a sidewalk and bikeway, has been in its final stages for nearly a year. The District of Sechelt (DOS) has set aside $1 million towards the improvements and had a construction study prepared by Binnie and Associates, while the province was prepared to commit $11 million and begin construction before 2010.
"I was pretty shocked and disappointed to hear this. I thought that was the one thing that was going to go ahead," said Powell River-Sunshine Coast MLA Nicholas Simons. "How they did an estimate without including the amount expected for expropriation is beyond me."
DOS director of planning Ray Parfitt received a letter from the ministry in mid-January, explaining the cost of construction had ballooned to $16.5 million from $9.8 million, the number the ministry had taken to their treasury board in July. The letter explained expropriation costs, which were not factored into the $9.8 million figure, had became significantly larger after the 2008 home assessments. This had reduced the benefit-to-cost ratio of the project from "greater than 1 to 0.5," thus taking it off the provincial priority list, Parfitt explained.
The 2008 assessments for waterfront properties throughout the Sunshine Coast have jumped at least 10 per cent, and in some cases as high as 15 per cent. Parfitt said most of the expropriation would need to take place between the conveyor belt and Davis Bay and that expropriation on the upland side of the highway could mean significant savings over the ministry's $16.5 million estimate.
"Most of the expropriation should be on the upland side of the highway, in my way of thinking," he said, adding he'll soon meet with an MOT representative and will find out how much land they plan on taking for the expansion.
Knight said Highway 101 improvement projects are ineligible to receive federal assistance, since it's not considered to be a "national highway." He added cost was the only factor that led the province to postpone the project - though Nick Proach, president of the local Route 101 Safety Society, was also against it. Proach wrote a letter in October to the Ministry of Transportation, voicing his group's opposition to the project at the time, because the society is advocating for a second, inland highway on the Sunshine Coast, instead of repairs to the existing highway.
"I'm not sure my letter had an effect [on this decision] - I hope it did," Proach said. "There has to be one voice here, and I don't think you're going to get a lot of opposition to a second highway. I'd encourage Sechelt to take that $1 million for the [Field Road to conveyor belt] corridor and put that toward a new highway."
District staff are now reviewing the MOT decision and looking at options to present to Sechelt council. Dividing the project into smaller parts or focusing solely on bike and walking lanes may be suggested, Parfitt said.
Transportation minister Kevin Falcon did not return calls by Coast Reporter's press deadline.
