One of the biggest changes coming down the pike for Chilliwack with the $6.5 million Lickman Road upgrade will be the new two-lane roundabout to help reduce traffic congestion.
A public open house on the project is set for March 8, hosted by City of Chilliwack at the Best Western Rainbow Country Inn, starting at 5 p.m.
City staff will be on-hand answering questions, and collecting feedback, with a preliminary design available for the public's perusal. A video simulation will show how the new roundabout will work at the intersection of Luckakuck/Yale/Lickman on the south side.
Construction on the Lickman upgrade will begin in late 2017, with completion expected at the end of 2018. The Province of B.C. is contributing $2 million, with the balance covered by the city.
The Request for Expressions of Interest details will be released in a matter of weeks.
Highway 1 is expect to be widened to six lanes by 2030, according to provincial plans, so the Phase I of the Lickman project will involve changes and interchange features that will survive the demolition of the bridge structure eventually.
Read about the project announcement: Congested Lickman Road over pass to get $6.5 m upgrade
On the north side the project will see:
• Additional turning lanes
• Additional climbing lane
• Longer northbound left turn Lane
Changes on the south side include:
• Two-lane roundabout
• Additional lanes
• Ramp intersection
- Signal removed
- Right turn only
Coun. Sam Waddington wanted to know about the phasing of the Lickman Road project.
"Obviously Lickman Road is a very busy piece of our road infrastructure. What is being done to mitigate those issues?" Waddington asked at the last council meeting.
Rod Sanderson, deputy director of engineering, said the process would follow the "recipe" used for the other Lickman road projects.
City staff will meet with local businesses from the area, and configure a construction schedule "to make sure businesses can carry on," he said. "We'll follow the same recipe and I'm sure we'll get the same results."