A new bridge across Mill Creek is now under construction.

(CARLI BERRY / iNFOnews.ca)

The final piece of a safe cycle/walking route between Rutland and the Okanagan Rail Trail comes with a new bridge across Mill Creek.

Right now, one of the most scenic sections of the Rail Trail along Mill Creek is between Dilworth Drive and McCurdy Road – although it moves out of vegetated areas and into industrial buildings at the northern end.

But, other than at those two streets, there’s only one crossing of the creek available and that’s at the water diversion site near Dilworth Drive.

So, in order to connect the Houghton Road Active Transportation Corridor with the Rail Trail, the City of Kelowna is in the process of building a bridge across the creek off Enterprise Road.

This is the recently finished extension to the corridor with just landscaping work still underway.

(CARLI BERRY / iNFOnews.ca)

The $3.2 million project is scheduled to open at the end of September, with the first section from Houghton Road to Leathead Road now complete.

The initial pathway is a four-metre protected route running for about one kilometre from the Houghton-Hollywood Road intersection down to Lester and Nickel Roads.

It’s a two-way path on the south side of the road and has been extended in the same format to the south side of Leathead Road.

Workers at the Nickel and Leathead intersection.

(CARLI BERRY / iNFOnews.ca)

Cyclists will be able to cross Highway 97 at the traffic light there, staying on the south side along Enterprise for a short distance.

A pedestrian activated signal will provide a safe crossing leading to the new bridge and the Rail Trail, Derek Corning, the city’s senior project manager, told iNFOnews.ca.

That will add more than one kilometre to the corridor.

This shows the route the new trail is taking.

Image Credit: Submitted/City of Kelowna

Plans are in the works to extend the Houghton Road corridor east across Rutland Road to Mugford Road next year, adding another 800 metres.

Closer to downtown, the Ethel Street cycle corridor has been extended across Raymer Avenue to KLO Road. That’s expected to be extended down Casorso Road to Barrera Road next year.

READ MORE: Sicamous to Armstrong rail trail gets $12.5M grant, but millions still needed

To contact a reporter for this story, email Rob Munro or call 250-808-0143 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. 

News from © iNFOnews, 2022