A dedicated left turn traffic signal will be installed at the intersection of Vance and Cowart Roads and Highway 16 - the site of a fatal collision slightly more than a week ago - by early fall, the provincial government said Friday.
A dedicated left turn traffic signal will also be installed at the intersection of Ferry Avenue and Highway 16.
"We have heard the community's concerns regarding these intersections with unprotected left-turn signals," said Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Todd Stone.
"Safety is always our highest priority and that is why we're taking action over the summer to upgrade these intersections to include a dedicated left-turn signal."
A 15-year-old girl died in hospital during the evening of April 22 from injuries suffered in a noon-hour collision at the intersection of Highway 16 and Vance-Cowart. She was in the passenger seat of a small SUV that was T-boned by a pickup truck pulling a loaded trailer.
The girl's name has not been made public.
ICBC has ranked interection as one of the most dangerous in Prince George for more than a decade.
An online petition was subsequently launched and eventually drew more than 8,000 signatures. And Stone said recommendations from an engineering review would be completed by Friday.
The current traffic signal provides an advance green left-turn arrow, but also allows drivers to turn left when they find a gap in oncoming traffic after the initial protected phase.
Improvements will see the installation of separate, protected left-turn signals in the centre median, providing a fully-controlled left-turn access for vehicles, while stopping oncoming traffic. Work will begin soon with design and procurement. Construction will start later this summer.
"This is one of Prince George's busiest corridors, with over 22,000 vehicles per day," Prince George-Valemount MLA Shirley Bond said.
"With these high volumes, priority must be made to ensure all intersections along this corridor are brought up to the highest standard of safety.
Cost of the work is estimated at $500,000. The ministry is also in preliminary planning on long-term improvements for this corridor, with design work starting in 2017.
