The province is claiming that Crofton Road remains a high priority for widening and resurfacing.
Officials from the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure said in a statement that it is currently in the design phase of the project.
“Work to relocate utilities in preparation for the project will begin this year,” the statement said.
“Once the final design is completed, the resurfacing work will go to tender, likely later this year.”
But Les Squire, who lives in the area and drives along Crofton Road almost every day, is skeptical about the ministry’s statement.
He said he’s heard it all before over the years and nothing has yet happened.
“The ministry said two years ago that it was planning to move forward soon with upgrades and repairs to the road, and now they say that they’re still in the planning stages,” Squire said.
“I’ve seen government surveyors on the road every few years and nothing has happened other than just some patching work from time to time. The road is used a lot by logging trucks and other heavy vehicles and it has no shoulders, so you don’t see very many people on bikes on that road.”
The ministry is responsible for the busy roadways from the Trans Canada Highway leading into Crofton, including Crofton Road.
The road is heavily used by logging trucks, chemical transports, school buses, and ferry and residential traffic, which has caused significant wear and tear on it over the years.
It has also seen significant deterioration from heavy snowfalls in recent winters, and the plowing to clear the road has only made the problem worse.
Despite years of studies and promises from the former Liberal government and the current NDP government, the heavily used road is still full of potholes and dangerous dips that have become a major safety concern for those who have to use it.
In 2017, a delegation from North Cowichan met with Claire Trevena, B.C.’s Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure, and were told permanent repairs should be coming soon to the dilapidated roadway.
Former North Cowichan Mayor Jon Lefebure said at the time that Trevena told the delegation that government engineers were being sent to assess the road’s condition and that extensive upgrading should begin in the near future.