The Ministry of Highways and Transportation says additional analysis is required to “understand the potential environmental impacts of the project.”
The province said Thursday it will not proceed with a project to widen the Trans-Canada Highway through Goldstream Park, citing the need for more environmental review.
The $162 million set aside for the project in 2024 will now be reallocated to other highway projects.
The original goal was to improve the safety and reliability of the Malahat corridor along the Goldstream River by widening 1.7 kilometres of the highway and installing more than 1.5 kilometres of median barrier.
The work would have included rock cuts and building highway retaining walls against the river, along with cantilevered extensions hanging over the waterway.
The plan has been delayed by extended talks with First Nations concerned about the impact of construction on the salmon-spawning stream.
Now the Ministry of Highways and Transportation says additional analysis is required to “understand the potential environmental impacts of the project in the Goldstream Park area.”
“This work will inform any future decisions about upgrades in this section of the corridor, as well as prioritize this work within the recommendations for future highway upgrades,” the ministry said in a statement on Thursday.“
Eric Pelkey of the W̱SÁNEĆ Leadership Council called the pause on the highway plan a “huge victory” for First Nations who have held long historical and cultural ties to the salmon that spawn there.
“We been very adamant that the widening of the highway would damage the river and the fish,” he said. “We were looking for this outcome, but we will all continue to make sure that the river is protected.”
Tsartlip First Nations elder Carl Olsen had protested at the park for the past three years, saying the project would come with “high cultural and environmental costs.”
The First Nations said the work would result in the loss of more than 700 trees, many old-growth, that shelter the salmon beds and keep the stream cool.
An environmental assessment of the project by McElhanney, a Western Canada-based environmental services company, said removal of riparian vegetation would result in permanent loss or alteration of salmon habitat and habitats close to the river that support several species of amphibians.
Construction would also fragment habitat for animals such as black bears, result in potential loss of habitat for several bat species roosting in cliff areas, and potentially affect breeding cycles of several birds listed under the Species at Risk Act, it said.
The ministry said an update on its Malahat Highway 1 Safety Review, including a review of crash data, will be completed this year to help guide future improvements along the corridor.
It said it will continue to work with its maintenance contractors, emergency responders and the RCMP to support safe and reliable travel throughout the corridor.
More than half of the Malahat corridor is protected by permanent concrete median barriers. Within Goldstream Park, flexible centreline delineators will remain.
The ministry said discussions with First Nations will continue as it updates the corridor study.
dkloster@timescolonist.com