Surveyors have been busy on the Sande Overpass, following up on a commitment made by provincial transportation minister Todd Stone during a visit to Terrace last month to do something to ease congestion on the heavily-used connection between the Southside and the rest of the city.
“We are currently developing conceptual options to see if we can improve traffic movements at the Sande Overpass/Keith Avenue intersection,” said a statement from the transportation ministry when asked about the work.
Ministry officials would provide no further details other than to say “the surveyors are gathering site information that will be used to help us develop these options for potential future upgrades.”
City councils over the years have been pressing the province – and CN – for a second vehicle overpass spanning CN's rail tracks, a subject which came up again when Stone made his visit.
One suggestion mentioned by Stone when he met with council was that of a traffic circle, a very popular traffic flow method in Europe and now being introduced in more parts of North America.
Instead of stop signs or traffic lights at an intersection, vehicles enter and exit a traffic circle seamlessly.
And there are now indications there could also be changes at the Hwy16/Hwy37 four-way stop intersection, reports city councillor James Cordeiro, one of several city councillors to meet with transportation ministry officials.
“What was said was whatever configuration was used at Sande would be also considered preferable for the four-way stop for sake of consistency, as what is appropriate for one would likely also be appropriate for the other,” said Cordeiro.