Kamloops BC United MLAs Todd Stone and Peter Milobar have promised safety improvements to Highway 5 North if their party wins the provincial election this year.

(LEVI LANDRY / iNFOnews.ca)

Kamloops MLAs vying for reelection later this year are promising millions in funding to improve safety on the Yellowhead Highway.

More than a dozen people died on the stretch highway last year and calls from local leaders for better safety have been growing for the past few years.

BC United opposition MLAs Todd Stone and Peter Milobar said at a media conference today, Jan. 23, they're joining those voices and looking to the provincial government to invest in the deadly stretch of highway.

"I think it’s safe to say people are getting very worried about the safety of that highway," Milobar said.

He accused the BC NDP of doing nothing to improve the highway while while in government over the past seven years.

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With leader Kevin Falcon's "blessing," the opposition MLAs announced if their party forms government in the next election they would bolster the highway's safety with more passing lanes, more barriers and widened corners.

They also said they would make sure the RCMP's BC Highway Patrol is fully staffed, add a station for commercial truck safety inspections and address concerns with commercial driver qualifications in BC.

The infrastructure costs would be high with up to $150 million for the new safety station and $10 to $15 million for every kilometre of passing lanes, but Milobar said those amounts are nothing more than a "rounding error" on the provincial budget.

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"It's a starting point and it's exactly what the corridor needs," Stone said, adding their promised plans would be implemented over a four-year term.

While the next provincial budget should be announced within the next month, Milobar and Stone said they don't expect Highway 5 North projects to be included this year, but promised they would press the government on its plans.

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