Highway 101 Alternate Route Planning Study

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The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure is partnering with shishalh Nation to deliver the Highway 101 Alternate Route Planning Study, in collaboration with Squamish Nation.

Highway 101 traffic volumes have grown approximately 20 per cent in the last five years, primarily between Gibsons and Sechelt. As communities continue to grow, it is becoming increasingly important to protect the role and function of the highway for inter-regional and local travel, including planning for transit and active transportation, climate change, and environmental protection. While there is no foreseeable need for a full, end-to-end bypass route based on demand alone, key locations could benefit from an alternate route to address congestion, reliability, and growing safety challenges.

The purpose of the study is to develop a clear and supported long-term plan for the Highway 101 corridor between Gibsons and Sechelt.

Public engagement

The Highway 101 Alternate Route Planning Study public engagement opportunity was held from June 23 to August 31, 2022 and has now ended. We thank everyone who participated for their interest.

Review the public engagement materials:

• Engagement Summary Report (PDF, 8.9MB)
• Overview map (PDF, 6.2MB)
• Highway 101 Alternate Route Planning Study display boards (PDF, 4.5MB)
• July 2022 information session presentation
• Q&A summary from the information sessions

Next steps

Feedback received has been compiled into an engagement summary report, including a summary of what we heard, for review and consideration by the study team. This will help refine the list of feasible options for further analysis and costing.

The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure will continue to partner with shishalh Nation, collaborate with Squamish Nation, and to engage with local and regional governments and the public on the Highway 101 Alternate Route Planning Study to ensure everyone is updated as the study progresses. 

Previous study (September 2020)

The Highway 101 Gibsons to Sechelt Corridor Study explored options to improve the safety and operations of the corridor. The objective of the study involved the recommendation of short-, medium-, and long-term improvement options to mitigate any identified existing or future safety or operations deficiencies on the corridor.