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Motorists should brace for major detours through the Rockies for up to the next four years as upgrades to one of the most treacherous stretches of the Trans-Canada Highway are set to begin.

For multiple weeks at a time beginning next year, Highway 1 east of Golden will be closed to all traffic to allow for the twinning and doubling to four lanes of about four kilometres of the artery in the winding, cliff-hugging Kicking Horse Pass just east of the B.C. town.

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“This final phase is by far the most challenging. This last section has 13 bends with rock faces on one side and canyon on the other, and hardly enough room for people to change a tire,” B.C. Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Claire Trevena said Thursday.

“There will be total closures for weeks at a time that will enable us to continue with the work safely.”

Upgrading of the hairpin stretch of highway will continue through to 2023-24, but it’s not clear if those road closures will extend throughout that entire time.