Highway interchange announced in West Kelowna

Steve MacNaull Sunday, April 5, 2009 Penticton Herald

Traffic should flow more smoothly when a $41-million interchange replaces the traffic lights at Highway 97 and Westside Road in West Kelowna. “It‘s all about improving traffic flow on and off the new (William R.) Bennett Bridge,” said Okanagan-Westside MLA Rick Thorpe at an announcement ceremony Saturday. “Instead of a traffic light here, impeding traffic, the new Westside Road interchange will replace that light with a Westside Road overpass and a Spland Road underpass so traffic can continue uninterrupted on Highway 97.” The project will cost $41 million, with $30 million coming from the provincial government and $11 million from the federal government. Thorpe said construction will start shortly for completion in late 2011. However, a sign unveiled at the ceremony shows a fall 2012 finish, presumably allowing a cushion for any construction delays.

The Westbank First Nation, which is providing reserve land for the interchange to be built, will be the project manager. The band oversaw the Campbell Road interchange at the west end of the Bennett Bridge, and it delivered on budget and ahead of time. The $140-million bridge opened in May last year, 108 days ahead of schedule and on budget. With the five-lane bridge replacing the former three-lane bottleneck, it‘s important to have efficient traffic flow on and off the structure. The Campbell Road setup helps, as do reconfigured streets and traffic lights on the Kelowna side of the bridge. While Westside Road is about two kilometres from the bridge, it is still important to have no traffic light there so motorists on Highway 97 have as few interruptions as possible. “This is another great day for Westbank First Nation and Highway 97 commuters,” said Chief Robert Louie at the unveiling ceremony, which was staged on the lawn of the Westbank First Nation government building at the corner of Highway 97 and Westside Road. “Building on the success of our work on Campbell Road, we look forward to the Westside Road interchange providing employment and contracts for native and non-native individuals and companies.” Representing the federal government, Stockwell Day, Okanagan-Coquihalla MP and international trade minister, said there would be some short-term pain for long-term gain. “There will be dust, detours and some slowdowns during construction,” Day pointed out. “But, the end result will be progress and better traffic flow. The local economy will benefit in tough times with this big government construction project.”