By Tyler OlsenMorning Star Staff Oct 27 2006 http://www.vernonmorningstar.com/
The widening of the final stretch of two-lane Highway 97A is a step closer to reality after Spallumcheen officials got some good news in a meeting with Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon Wednesday. Falcon told a Spallumcheen delegation that the provincial government has released the funds needed for the road work and that the onus is now on the federal government to give promised highway money to B.C. If those funds materialize, construction on the four-kilometre stretch of highway should should begin next year. “I’m really excited. That’s what I’ve been waiting to hear,” said Mayor Will Hansma who, along with Councillors Dave Brew, Todd York and Janice Brown, and administrator Lynda Shykora, met with Falcon. The quintet are in Victoria this week for the Union of British Columbia Municipalities conference. “Now we just have to get those bureaucratic wheels going (in Ottawa).” Hansma added that the highway upgrade, which he said will cost betweetn $25 and $30 million, is vital to a proposed expansion of industrial land in the township’s southeast sector. “It’s so incredibly important that the infrastructure is in place before it all starts happening.” Hansma said that prior to the meeting the delegation was unsure whether the province would be ready to step up to the plate. “We were a little bit apprehensive about how things are going to go because you hear so many rumours,” he said. “Then you walk in and he (Falcon) has got a smile on his face.” Along with the meeting with Falcon, Hansma and company spoke with Health Minister George Abbott and Pat Bell, the minister of agriculture and lands.
Hansma said that the township informed Bell that they will be looking for funding to help upgrade the Interior Provincial Exhibition grounds from the ministry of community services. “We need him to go to bat for us when the time comes, (in regards to) the importance of the IPE and agriculture as a whole.”
The widening of the final stretch of two-lane Highway 97A is a step closer to reality after Spallumcheen officials got some good news in a meeting with Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon Wednesday. Falcon told a Spallumcheen delegation that the provincial government has released the funds needed for the road work and that the onus is now on the federal government to give promised highway money to B.C. If those funds materialize, construction on the four-kilometre stretch of highway should should begin next year. “I’m really excited. That’s what I’ve been waiting to hear,” said Mayor Will Hansma who, along with Councillors Dave Brew, Todd York and Janice Brown, and administrator Lynda Shykora, met with Falcon. The quintet are in Victoria this week for the Union of British Columbia Municipalities conference. “Now we just have to get those bureaucratic wheels going (in Ottawa).” Hansma added that the highway upgrade, which he said will cost betweetn $25 and $30 million, is vital to a proposed expansion of industrial land in the township’s southeast sector. “It’s so incredibly important that the infrastructure is in place before it all starts happening.” Hansma said that prior to the meeting the delegation was unsure whether the province would be ready to step up to the plate. “We were a little bit apprehensive about how things are going to go because you hear so many rumours,” he said. “Then you walk in and he (Falcon) has got a smile on his face.” Along with the meeting with Falcon, Hansma and company spoke with Health Minister George Abbott and Pat Bell, the minister of agriculture and lands.
Hansma said that the township informed Bell that they will be looking for funding to help upgrade the Interior Provincial Exhibition grounds from the ministry of community services. “We need him to go to bat for us when the time comes, (in regards to) the importance of the IPE and agriculture as a whole.”
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Oct 27 EDITORIAL
News that the province has confirmed that it will kick in its portion of funds to upgrade a much travelled stretch of highway should be greeted with cautious applause. The money from the province will go towards upgrading a four-kilometre stretch of Highway 97 in Spallumcheen. The upgraded highway would provide a better transportation link between the Spallumcheen industrial park and the rest of the North Okanagan and would make the region more appealing to job-creating industry. Even more importantly, it would make a narrow-stretch of road dramatically safer for the thousands of people who use it for their daily commute. But this much-needed upgrade to an important commuter and industry corridor will not be a sure thing until the federal government gives the province money promised for highways. Since the four-laning of Highway 97 was first promised by the province, the highway has been designated a national highway, which makes it available for federal funding. This certainly helps out the provincial Liberals but it throws an additional element of uncertainty into a process that has already taken too long. Now it is up to the Conservatives to send B.C. the money it has been promised for infrastructure so that construction can start next year.And while the Ministry of Transportation holds the key, our MP, Colin Mayes, must do his utmost to ensure that the money needed for the highway is delivered soon. Whether or not we will soon be able to drive from Vernon to Armstrong on a four-lane highway now rests solely on the federal government and local and provincial lobbying efforts.
News that the province has confirmed that it will kick in its portion of funds to upgrade a much travelled stretch of highway should be greeted with cautious applause. The money from the province will go towards upgrading a four-kilometre stretch of Highway 97 in Spallumcheen. The upgraded highway would provide a better transportation link between the Spallumcheen industrial park and the rest of the North Okanagan and would make the region more appealing to job-creating industry. Even more importantly, it would make a narrow-stretch of road dramatically safer for the thousands of people who use it for their daily commute. But this much-needed upgrade to an important commuter and industry corridor will not be a sure thing until the federal government gives the province money promised for highways. Since the four-laning of Highway 97 was first promised by the province, the highway has been designated a national highway, which makes it available for federal funding. This certainly helps out the provincial Liberals but it throws an additional element of uncertainty into a process that has already taken too long. Now it is up to the Conservatives to send B.C. the money it has been promised for infrastructure so that construction can start next year.And while the Ministry of Transportation holds the key, our MP, Colin Mayes, must do his utmost to ensure that the money needed for the highway is delivered soon. Whether or not we will soon be able to drive from Vernon to Armstrong on a four-lane highway now rests solely on the federal government and local and provincial lobbying efforts. 
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