By Times-Chronicle staff
South Okanagan residents travelling back and forth to Penticton or further afield, will have a safer journey soon following news that the dangerous junction of Highway 97 and Highway 3A outside Kaleden will soon be remedied.
The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure (MOTI) is moving forward on building a protected left-turn lane at the junction of the two highways which will improve safety for residents and travellers through the area.
The design for the protected left-turn lane is complete, and a tender will be issued in the coming days, MOTI said. Construction on the project could begin as early as summer 2022.
The project will allow traffic on Highway 3A to make safer left-turn movements onto Highway 97 by only having to cross one southbound lane of Highway 97. It also provides a new dedicated acceleration lane on Highway 97 for people who are merging onto northbound Highway 97.
“People in Kaleden and the surrounding area have made their concerns about this intersection clear, and these concerns were amplified by the increased traffic following closures of Highway 5 after November’s flooding event,” said Roly Russell, MLA for Boundary-Similkameen, on behalf of Rob Fleming, Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure.
“After conversations with community members, local government, First Nations, local emergency services and first responders, we are confident this protected left-turn lane will help address the need to significantly improve safety for people who travel through the area. Particularly, I’m grateful to local RDOS director Subrina Monteith for her leadership,” Russel said.
Of the options reviewed for the intersection, the ministry found the protected left-turn lane would have the biggest impact in improving safety and is the most feasible to build, it said.
The ministry will conduct a traffic analysis of Highway 97 in the Kaleden area in the summer when volumes are at peak levels. Along with the crash history for the area, the results of this analysis will help develop options for other potential safety improvements.
