Residents says it's only a matter of time before someone killed at dangerous Hwy 16 intersection

Photo: John Morrison

It’s a deadly accident waiting to happen.

A group of concerned residents who own properties on the south shore of Clucultz Lake, west of Prince George, are petitioning the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure to make it a priority to fix a dangerous intersection.

The sharp angle and downhill grade where Lloyd Drive meets Highway 16 requires motorists to slow down to make the turn, and that creates hazards for approaching drivers because there is no turning lane in either direction.

“It's only a matter of time before we attend one of our neighbors’ funerals from this intersection. Rear end or a head on is inevitable,” John Morrison wrote on a change.org petition.

Morrison has owned a cabin on the lake since 1991 and he and his family have learned to take extra precautions whenever they approach the intersection from their home in Prince George.

“When you’re coming along and want to turn left onto the Lloyd, the traffic is coming behind you from the Bednesti side and I’m in the habit now of putting the turn indicator on at least a kilometre ahead as I’m slowing down and I eyeball the traffic coming down the hill to go in between vehicles and not have to come to a stop,” said Morrison.

“More than once we’ve had somebody pass us at 90 or 100 kilometres (per hour) on the inside on the dirt because they didn’t see us stopping and turning, because it’s a single lane. Past that, half a kilometre or less up the hill, it turns into a double passing lane and there’s a ton of room on that side so they would just have to widen the road up to the passing lane.”

Morrison said changes are also needed for eastbound traffic coming from Vanderhoof, which has to slow down enough to exit the highway and make a tight 60-degree bend onto the downhill-sloping Lloyd Drive. He said that turn is even more difficult for drivers hauling a boat trailer or camper, and motorists coming down the long hill are forced to reduce their speed or even stop to avoid collisions with the turning vehicle.

Traffic on the highway has increased over the past year due to construction of the Coastal Gas Link pipeline to Kitimat, and Morrison says the road will continue to see increasing vehicle volumes with the Endako mine near Fraser Lake expected to reopen.

The intersection was recommended for an upgrade that was supposed to happen in the spring of 2019, but the project was delayed and put on the ministry’s 10-year plan. The petition is asking the province make it a higher priority and come out with a guaranteed delivery date for the upgrades.

Gordon Holmes owns one of the 170 properties built on the south side of Clucultz and he started the petition about a month ago, which now has 403 respondents.

“This intersection is scary, there’s going to be a fatality there,” said Holmes. “It’s just a bad design. It’s an electronic petition and I couldn’t believe there was a flood of people saying, ‘That corner scares the heck out of me.

“One of the problems with the intersection is it’s way below the highway grade, and then you have to dump a ton of speed. I’ve hit it at 70 and it’s spooky. You could really lose it.”