The Ministry of Transportation has announced it will redesign the Highway 97 intersection with Boucherie Road in West Kelowna as part of a number of changes it plans to make to the highway.
"Public feedback expressed strong support for the ministry's conceptual layout to improve safety and traffic flow at the Boucherie Road intersection and our next step will be to initiate preliminary design at that location," said Transportation and
Infrastructure Minister Todd Stone in making the announcement.
Other changes planned include:
• Installing approximately six kilometres of continuous lighting on Highway 97 from the Bennett Bridge to Ross Road
• Installing approximately four kilometres of median barrier on Highway
97 from Daimler Drive to Gossett Road
• Taking a closer look at an alternate route around the Westbank town centre.
"The City of West Kelowna's mayor and council have expressed a desire for an alternate route around the city and changes to Highway 97 through the Westbank Town Centre," Stone said.
"In recognition of these concerns, the ministry will defer work at Westlake Road while we carry out a needs and options assessment for an alternative route. This assessment will take place within the Central Okanagan Planning Study, which is currently underway."
An report detailing public response to the stated plans for the future of the Boucherie Road and the Westlake Road intersections in West Kelowna is now posted on the ministry's website. It follows a public engagement period that included two open houses in the spring that were attended by almost 400 people.
Stone said 74 per cent of respondents either strongly agreed or agreed with the Boucherie Road intersection conceptual layout presented at the open houses.
In 2014, the ministry began planning improvements to the Highway 97 intersections at Boucherie Road and Westlake Road to increase safety and mobility along the highway corridor.
The two intersections were identified as the ones most in need of safety and mobility improvements following the completion of the Bennett Bridge and Westside Road Interchange.
"As the economy and population of the Okanagan both continue to grow, infrastructure needs to keep pace," said Premier Christy Clark about the road work plans. Clark is also the MLA for Westside-Kelowna.