Median barriers will be installed on dangerous stretch of Highway 97 | iNFOnews | Thompson-Okanagan's News Source
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Kelowna News

Median barriers will be installed on dangerous stretch of Highway 97

Kelowna-Mission MLA Steve Thomson, left, and Kelowna-Lake Country MLA Norm Letnick pose with a sign advertising the provincial government's plan to place concrete meridian barriers on nine more kilometres of Highway 97.
Image Credit: Contributed

KELOWNA – A stretch of Hwy 97, notorious for crashes caused when a driver crosses the centre line, will receive nine kilometers of concrete median barriers this summer.

The announcement was made Friday, May 8 with plans for phase one to begin this month. The $2.5-million project will start with work between University Way and the north end of Duck Lake. Phase two is still in the early planning stages and will include median barriers continuing north from Duck Lake to Commonwealth Road.

Phase one is expected to be completed by the end of the summer and phase two, which will include a public consultation, will wrap up in the fall of 2016.

The decision to install the barriers was made last year following an engineering safety review of the highway. The recommendation was driven by the risk of crossover accidents combined with high traffic volumes, according to a media release from the Ministry of Transportation.

Installation work will be done during off-peak travel hours and will require single lane closures for safety.

MLA for Kelowna-Lake Country Norm Letnick says his decision to re-enter public life ten years ago was made in part because of the death of a pedestrian standing at a Kelowna street corner waiting to cross the road.

“The safety of my constituents is paramount and I'm so pleased government has once again delivered on highway improvements that will have a direct impact of saving lives and reducing the anguish suffered by broken families left behind,” he says.

To contact the reporter for this story, email Adam Proskiw at aproskiw@infonews.ca or call 250-718-0428. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.

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