Traffic plan adopted for extended Hammond Bay project

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Rational behind avoiding a more traditional single-lane alternating traffic closure approach along Hammond Bay Rd. (Image Credit: Regional District of Nanaimo)

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Detailed traffic management information from the RDN is available here.

Chris Mathie, RDN project engineer, outlined the strategy during a Monday, May 25, Nanaimo City Council meeting.

“We’ll start at the north end and work our way south in that vein, we would be looking at the first two years approximately, the northern portion being closed to traffic in one direction and moving south from there.”

Mathie said moving away from a single-lane alternating option was made following research findings from a consultant, which weighed numerous traffic modelling metrics, including flow usage patterns.

Northbound motorists will be significantly impacted while a new sewer line is installed beneath Hammond Bay Rd. (Image Credit: Regional District of Nanaimo)

He said it was determined a single-lane alternating approach would cause more significant traffic delays, as well as lengthen construction duration.

Consulting firm Urban Systems Ltd. determined the highest volumes of vehicular traffic along the Hammond Bay corridor proceed south toward Departure Bay.

Mathie anticipated ground investigations along Hammond Bay Rd. to be done this summer, followed by single-lane alternating traffic during the third quarter of the year.

Construction work zones will be done in segmented chunks, Mathie stated.

Crews will be twinning a sewer line beneath Hammond Bay Rd. in segments from the north end of the corridor (I) to south (A). (Image Credit: Regional District of Nanaimo)

“We intend to implement the unidirectional traffic pattern starting in Q1 of 2027. The total duration of construction is four years, it’s from the end of this year to the beginning of 2031.”

Two-way access on Hammond Bay Rd. through work zones will be accommodated for Nanaimo Fire Rescue, Nanaimo RCMP and BC Ambulance Service during working hours using a communication dispatch protocol system.

The RDN’s 20/20A Hammond Bay Rd. northbound bus routes will be impacted during construction, which will involve two early morning counterflow buses to accommodate riders, including Dover Bay Secondary School students.

In response to impacts to be caused by detoured northbound traffic funneled around Hammond Bay Rd. via Uplands Dr., significant intersection improvements are pledged on Departure Bay Rd. at Uplands Dr., and Rutherford Rd. at Vanderneuk Rd.

Various pedestrian-focused improvements are also planned, while traffic calming measures for the Stephenson Point area are also envisioned to handle motorists opting to bypass construction.

Diagram of pending intersection, pedestrian projects and traffic calming initiatives pending as a result of a significant infrastructure project overseen by the RDN. (Image Credit: Regional District of Nanaimo)

The construction project presents an opportunity for the City of Nanaimo to enhance surface-level active mobility infrastructure, however, no firm proposals are currently in place.

The City supplied $19 million as part of a cost-sharing agreement for surface-level enhancements, including storm and sanitary sewer renewals.

Responsible for wastewater capture, treatment and disposal, the RDN is twinning a wastewater line essentially following the path of Hammond Bay Rd. for over four kilometers between the Departure Bay Pump Station at the north end of Departure Bay Beach, to the Pollution Control Centre (GNPCC) off McGuffie Rd.

Once operational, James Hadou, the RDN’s manager of capital project delivery, told Monday’s presentation to Nanaimo City Council the existing deteriorating sewer line will be realigned to extend its life and create additional capacity.

The RDN’s recent 2026-2030 financial plan budgeted $133 million for the sewer line project and an additional nearly $37 million to upgrade the Departure Bay Pump Station, with upgrading aging infrastructure and serving a growing population at the heart of the initiatives.

The Departure Bay Pump Station receives and then transports roughly three-quarters of the City of Nanaimo’s wastewater to the GNPCC.

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