Construction begins on Vancouver Island bus lanes
Major construction is underway on the Highway 1 bus-on-shoulder project between McKenzie Avenue and the Colwood exit. The new bus lanes will stretch from the McKenzie Interchange to the Colwood Interchange on Highway 1, making the bus a faster, more reliable and convenient option for commuters on southern Vancouver Island.
The Highway 1 bus-on-shoulder project will reduce congestion by prioritizing rapid transit, and is a key part of the South Island Transportation Strategy to create a dedicated rapid transit corridor between downtown Victoria and the Westshore as part of B.C. Transit’s RapidBus program.
The project also includes a new pedestrian and cyclist bridge on the Galloping Goose Trail at Craigflower Creek to enhance active transportation in the area. Additional improvements include ecological restoration, upgraded bus stops at the Helmcken Interchange, realignments to Portage Road, widened ramps and new roadside barriers.
This work complements the Colquitz Bridges Widening project, which is well underway and supports B.C. Transit’s upgrades in the Six Mile area of View Royal, improving connections between communities and creating a continuous, rapid-transit corridor. The project is expected to be completed in late fall 2027 and will provide a continuous system of transit-only lanes between downtown Victoria and the Colwood transit exchange.
Reducing travel time and increasing ridership is expected to save more than 400 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year. That would be equivalent to taking over 100 single-occupancy vehicles off the road annually.
The bus-on-shoulder project is jointly funded, with the province contributing $67 million and the federal government investing $28 million through the Public Transit Infrastructure Stream of the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program.
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