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British Columbia Highway 14, named the West Coast (Sooke) Highway is the southernmost numbered route in the province of
The total length of Highway 14 is . In the east, Highway 14 begins at an interchange with the
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, for ...
. An east-west highway on the southwestern coast of Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are of land. The island is the largest by ...
in the Capital Regional District
The Capital Regional District (CRD) is a local government administrative district encompassing the southern tip of Vancouver Island and the southern Gulf Islands in the Canadian province of British Columbia. The CRD is one of several regional ...
, it is sometimes known as the ''Juan de Fuca Highway'', as well as ''Sooke Road'', Sooke
Sooke is a district municipality on the southern tip of Vancouver Island, Canada, by road from Victoria, the capital of British Columbia. Sooke, the westernmost of Greater Victoria's Western Communities, is to the north and west of the Sooke ...
being one of the largest communities that the highway passes through. Highway 14 first opened in 1953, extending west from Colwood, a suburb of 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 ...
, to the coastal community of Jordan River
The Jordan River or River Jordan ( ar, نَهْر الْأُرْدُنّ, ''Nahr al-ʾUrdunn'', he, נְהַר הַיַּרְדֵּן, ''Nəhar hayYardēn''; syc, ܢܗܪܐ ܕܝܘܪܕܢܢ ''Nahrāʾ Yurdnan''), also known as ''Nahr Al-Shariea ...
, and was extended all the way west to the remote community of Port Renfrew by 1975. The highway's eastern terminus was relocated to northern Langford in 2002.
Outside of urban areas the route has exceptionally winding, curving and hilly stretches. Some of the sharper corners have oversized, freeway-style, jersey barrier
A Jersey barrier, Jersey wall, or Jersey bump is a modular concrete or plastic barrier employed to separate lanes of traffic. It is designed to minimize vehicle damage in cases of incidental contact while still preventing vehicle crossovers resu ...
s instead of the more typical steel crash rails, mostly to prevent an out-of-control vehicle from falling off a cliff into the Strait of Juan de Fuca
The Strait of Juan de Fuca (officially named Juan de Fuca Strait in Canada) is a body of water about long that is the Salish Sea's outlet to the Pacific Ocean. The international boundary between Canada and the United States runs down the centre ...
. Some bridges are single lane and were built corduroy road
A corduroy road or log road is a type of road or timber trackway made by placing logs, perpendicular to the direction of the road over a low or swampy area. The result is an improvement over impassable mud or dirt roads, yet rough in the bes ...
style.
Route details
The total length of Highway 14 is . In the east, Highway 14 begins at an interchange with the Trans-Canada Highway
The Trans-Canada Highway (Canadian French, 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 A ...
(Exit 14) in north Langford, proceeding south for 3 km (2 mi) as the Veterans Memorial Parkway through the community of Langford before turning west on Sooke Road and continuing through Langford and Metchosin
The District of Metchosin is a municipality and community in Greater Victoria on the southern tip of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. It is a coastal community adjacent to the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Metchosin is part of the Western ...
for 22 km (14 mi), also passing by a local hill known as Mount Helmcken, before entering Sooke. After Sooke, Highway 14 proceeds west for 36 km (22 mi) to Jordan River, hugging the coastline for most of the distance. Highway 14 then travels west northwest along the southwestern coast of the Island for 42 km (26 mi), finally terminating at a Department of Fisheries and Oceans
Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO; french: Pêches et Océans Canada, MPO), is a department of the Government of Canada that is responsible for developing and implementing policies and programs in support of Canada's economic, ecological and sc ...
dock in the town of Port Renfrew.
Prior to realignment in 2002, Highway 14 travelled through Colwood from the junction of Old Island Highway (former Highway 1A) and Goldstream Avenue to its current intersection with Veterans Memorial Parkway.
See also
*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 ...
References
External links
{{BCHighways 014 Transport on Vancouver Island