Tackling heavy traffic congestion - The McKenzie Interchange Project

The McKenzie Interchange Project is a grade-separated interchange on the Trans-Canada Highway at the intersection with Admirals Road and McKenzie Avenue in Saanich. The intersection is the number one bottleneck in the province of British Columbia outside of the Lower Mainland. The project will improve traffic flow of passenger, transit and goods movement vehicles. Safety of pedestrians and cyclists will also be enhanced as part of the project.


In the first stage of the recently completed McKenzie Interchange project, the embankment for Galloping Goose Trail (a bicycle/hiking trail which parallels the Trans-Canada Highway) was elevated and taken across McKenzie Avenue on a new bridge structure.


The abutments for this bridge and a portion of the new embankment along the highway are supported by Reinforced Earth® walls. These walls were built in two stages to allow for the consolidation of the foundation over the construction period. The second phase of this project will incorporate additional Reinforced Earth walls at the abutment of a second bridge carrying the pedestrian traffic across the upgraded TransCanada Highway.