Highway 18 is a short main vehicle route in the
Cowichan Valley Regional District
The Cowichan Valley Regional District is a regional district in the Canadian province of British Columbia is on the southern part of Vancouver Island, bordered by the Nanaimo and Alberni-Clayoquot Regional Districts to the north and northwest, ...
on
Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are o ...
, connecting the city of
Duncan
Duncan may refer to:
People
* Duncan (given name), various people
* Duncan (surname), various people
* Clan Duncan
* Justice Duncan (disambiguation)
Places
* Duncan Creek (disambiguation)
* Duncan River (disambiguation)
* Duncan Lake (d ...
on the
Trans-Canada Highway
The Trans-Canada Highway ( French: ; abbreviated as the TCH or T-Can) is a transcontinental federal–provincial highway system that travels through all ten provinces of Canada, from the Pacific Ocean on the west coast to the Atlantic Ocean o ...
with the community of
Lake Cowichan
Lake Cowichan (Nitinaht: ʕaʔk̓ʷaq c̓uubaʕsaʔtx̣) (pop. 2,974) is a town located on the east end of Cowichan Lake and, by highway, is west of Duncan, British Columbia. The town of Lake Cowichan was incorporated in 1944. The Cowichan Ri ...
, on the shore of
Cowichan Lake
Cowichan Lake is a large freshwater lake located on southern Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. It is located along the Cowichan Valley in the Cowichan Valley Regional District, with its eastern shore about west of Duncan, British Colum ...
.
The highway first opened to vehicle traffic in 1953, and was re-routed to a straighter and wider alignment in 1970. The speed limit along most of the highway is .
In late 2006, drivers using Highway 18 experienced broken parts (such as windows with big shatter marks) on their cars, most of these came from loose rocks after passing other drivers. This generated anger and was called the "
Sealcoat
Sealcoating, or pavement sealing, is the process of applying a protective coating to asphalt-based pavements to provide a layer of protection from the elements: water, oils, and U.V. damage.
The effects of asphalt sealers have been debated. Aspha ...
Job" because of the bad gravel sealcoating of the stretch to Duncan from the Cowichan Lake Road junction at Lake Cowichan by the new highway contractor company.
In early 2004, a proposal was brought forward to extend Highway 18 west from Lake Cowichan, all the way along existing logging roads to the community of
Port Renfrew
A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...
on the southwest coast of Vancouver Island, as a way of rerouting traffic from the northern part of the Island to
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
in case of a bad accident or any other extraordinary event forcing a closure of the
Malahat. The highway between Mesachie Lake and Port Renfrew is known as the
Pacific Marine Circle Route
The Pacific Marine Circle Route is a marked scenic loop road through southern Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. The route is composed of Highway 14, Pacific Marine Road, Shore Road, Highway 18, and a segment of the Trans-Canada Hig ...
.
References
018 018 may refer to
*Air Canada Flight 018, an airline flight from Hong Kong to Vancouver, Canada, illegally boarded by a Chinese man wearing a disguise in 2010
*Area code 018, a telephone area code in Uppsala, Sweden
*BMW 018, an experimental turboje ...
Duncan, British Columbia
Transport on Vancouver Island
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