B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad says it’s time for a serious plan to build a second crossing over Okanagan Lake.
During an announcement Friday (Oct. 4) about his party’s childcare plan he was asked how a Conservative government could plan, build and pay for a second bridge connecting Kelowna and West Kelowna by 2032 as promised.
“The existing crossing is expected to max out capacity by 2040,” he said. “I suspect with the growth that we’re seeing here it could actually reach that even earlier.”
A June 23, 2023, Kelowna Chamber letter to Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure (MOTI) Rob Flemming stated that the Central Okanagan is expected to grow by 60,000 residents by 2040. A 2019 staff report to Kelowna council on a second bridge and a freeway bypass indicated the project would cost well in excess of $1 billion at the time.
In March 2023, MOTI unveiled its Central Okanagan Integrated Transportation Study, a 20-year vision for transportation needs in the Okanagan Valley. It did not include a second crossing but did recommend a sixth lane on the existing bridge dedicated to transit.
The City of Kelowna plans to address traffic congestion including redundancy to Highway 97 with the Clement Avenue extension and a new transit yard to expand the regional transit fleet.
Rustad added a plan to build a second crossing needs to engage with First Nations, communities and residents.
“That needs to be developed, and as soon as we get that developed then we will allocate funding to get it built.”
Kelowna-Centre NDP candidate Loyal Wooldridge said while improvements are needed along the Highway 97 corridor, the Conservatives are promising something without thorough analysis.
“Their promise is fiscally irresponsible, untrustworthy, electioneering,” Wooldridge said in an emailed statement. “They have no intention to collaborate with First Nations or municipalities”
He said promising a new crossing by 2032 is nearly impossible.
“By impacting WFN lands, reallocation of land would be required with federal government approvals which can take 5-10 years. A rough estimate of a new bridge would cost roughly $3 billion-plus, not including additional land costs and new road connections.”
In an Instagram post, West Kelowna-Peachland Independent candidate Stephen Johnston said the Conservatives’ promise is questionable and overlooks long-standing challenges his riding has faced for decades.
“Unless they intend to address these significant infrastructure deficits, this is nothing more than cheap talk.”
As an example, Johnston posted that Westside Road, where a second crossing would be established, is “one of the most dangerous roads in Canada, and certainly in B.C.”
“Immediate upgrades are essential to improve safety and prevent accidents on this critical route.”
Unless the Conservatives are promising to build everything at once Johnston added, pushing ahead with a second crossing while neglecting these urgent needs would be reckless.
