iN VIDEO: BC Transit taking long way between Kelowna and Penticton as bush roads upgraded
The Route 70 transit service between Kelowna and Penticton will now take more than twice as long to complete as it did before Highway 97 was closed near Summerland.
The old schedule had the bus leaving, for example, from its last stop in Penticton at 6:15 a.m. and arriving in downtown Kelowna at 7:25 a.m. with stops in Summerland and Peachland.
The new early morning run will leave the IGA parking lot in Penticton at 6:08 a.m. and arrive in downtown Kelowna at the Queensway transit exchange at 9:40 a.m., adding more than two hours to the trip and eliminating Peachland and Summerland from the schedule.
The new scenic route will be through Keremeos to Princeton, up through Aspen Grove to the Okanagan Connecter then into West Kelowna.
The bus will run twice a day, leaving Penticton again at 12:37 p.m. It leaves the Kelowna Queensway terminal at 10:40 a.m. and 5:10 p.m.
For more details on the BC Transit service, go here.
The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure says the slide blocking the highway north of Summerland will not be cleared before Labour Day Monday.
Roughly 3,000 cubic metres of rock and debris closed the highway between Callan Road and Okanagan Lake Provincial Park at about 2 p.m. Monday.
“Geotechnical engineers are completing a thorough investigation of the area, which will determine a timeline for reopening,” a Ministry news release says. “A detailed assessment and development of remediation options is anticipated to take several days.”
It also says that it's working with “partners” to prepare safe detours by grading and putting up signage on back roads.
READ MORE: Highway 97 slide near Summerland sends drivers down dangerous forestry road
It does not say which roads those are but many people travelling between Penticton and Kelowna are using the 201 Forest Service Road that connects to Highway 33 near McCulloch Road.
It has been reported on social media as suitable for cars but rough and dusty and dangerous as people travel either too fast or too slow on it.
The latest postings today say that grading work has started there.
But that’s still a two hour trip. To use paved roads, either on the east side of Okanagan Lake like BC Transit is doing or via Osoyoos-Rock Creek-Beaverdell, that takes at least three hours.
Some people may be directed by GPS systems to use the Garnet Valley Road to go between Summerland and Peachland.
“The Garnet Valley Road turns into a rough four-wheel drive road that resulted in some pretty serious delays a few years back when Google rerouted people that way,” Russell Mussio, president of Backroad Maps, told iNFOnews.ca in an email. “From my understanding, this route should not be suggested.”
The next closest backroads are the Peachland and Glen Lake forest service roads.
“That is the better of the routes but only marginally,” Mussio, who lives in the area, wrote. “It is also a longer trek. This alternate route would definitely need some TLC (road grading), some better signage and warnings for those not used to backroad travel."
The Ministry did not provide details on what forest roads it was upgrading by publication time.
“The back route detours are not recommended as an alternate route, particularly during darkness and without a full tank of gas, food and water,” it said in its news release.
For updates on the Highway 97 closure, go here.
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