Back in November 2019, the Kensington overpass was shut down due to a horrific head-on collision that sent multiple people to hospital and required six ambulances.
You can see the photo above of the crash. It's horrifying.
I wrote the initial story and the crash didn’t surprise me one bit. I’ve driven that overpass for decades and witnesses a lot of close calls taking place at the exact spot where the crash happened. There is a curve in the overpass that wouldn’t be inherently dangerous if it wasn’t for the stupidity of drivers who go too fast and swerve into the other lane, usually while driving north.
But it is what it is – a dangerous situation because of speeding drivers who apparently need to be saved from themselves.
When a city staff report presented contract options for road work on this overpass, I was happy to see the City of Burnaby making efforts to improve safety. It’s just missing the one thing I was hoping could be added – some sort of concrete median at the curve to ensure drivers stay in their lane.
But the city will still be making some key upgrades through this project, which will help things. (The city has made other changes more recently, including how people enter the overpass from Broadway to head south.)
The scope of this project includes:
· Surface milling;
· Deck patching;
· Placement of overlay to an approximate 7,500 m² area;
· Resurfacing of the main span, east ramp, and west ramp of the Kensington Overpass; and,
· Concrete barrier repair and installation of pavement markings.
That’s at least something, but I still hold out hope that one day a barrier will be installed.
Follow Chris Campbell on Twitter @shinebox44.
