Completed Sign Put On Highway 6 Upgrade

Written by Peter McIntyre 107.5 KISSFM Friday, 14 March 2014 16:34

Photo: Highway 6 opening
 L-R Coldstream Mayor Jim Garlick, Lumby Mayor Kevin Acton,
 Vernon Mayor Rob Sawatzky
and Vernon Monashee MLA Eric Foster (Kiss FM)

The BC government held a news conference to officially put a wrap on the upgrade to Highway 6 near the Coldstream Ranch. Vernon Monashee MLA Eric Foster says the 11 million dollar project has improved traffic flow and made it safer over the 2.2 kilometre stretch between grey and Ricardo roads.  "Everybody is really, really happy with it. It doesn't make the trip to town faster or anything, it just makes it more comfortable," states Foster. Foster, who has lived in Lumby for 30 years, remembers first starting to lobby the province for the upgrade back in 1986. "I was at a meeting with the then minister of transportation with Lumby council and Coldstream council. Ernie Palfrey was the mayor (of Coldstream) and Dave Simpson was mayor of Lumby. We we're lobbying then." Lumby Mayor Kevin Acton, who's been driving the route for 23 years, says taking out the section near the ranch has been a major improvement."Any time you can save a life it's huge. That corner was definately a huge danger, and a huge risk," says Acton.  About 9,000 vehicles use that part of the highway daily. Vernon Mayor Rob Sawatzky says the added safety is not just good for motorists. "It won't be long before this is one of the favorite bike routes in the North Okanagan, and people come from the prairie provinces, and all over, to ride here in our area." The section saw 119 crashes between 2000 to 2009, many in the dangerous part that ran by the Coldstream Ranch. The contractor was Windley Contracting of Nanaimo.