The closure of Second Avenue and McBride for the construction of a roundabout in Prince Rupert has been a point of friction for traffic, and will continue to be until 2026.
Construction of a roundabout began earlier this year and is designed to improve safety and allow smooth traffic flow. In addition to the roundabout, work is also being done to improve underground water and sewer infrastructure along the intersection.
Councillor Nick Adey raised concerns at Prince Rupert city council about heavy traffic in the intersection, causing a blockade.
“A question I’m hearing quite often is with respect to the Third Avenue traffic light on McBride. What will happen at times when the traffic is fairly heavy and that light goes red? Is the traffic going to back up into the roundabout? Because I’ve experienced roundabouts and they’re really good as long as everybody’s moving. They really suck if nobody’s moving,” said Adey.
Chief Administration Officer Richard Pucci responded to Adey’s question by saying the engineers spent lots of time working on the model.
“I know that design has been underway for several years and with traffic engineers and different modelers. So I’m sure they’ve accounted for that in their design,” said Pucci.
While no exact timeline for project completion has been released, the B.C. government expects it to be completed in fall 2026.
