The Westside Road Interchange project will reach an important milestone on Saturday, with the opening of the interchange structure to vehicle traffic and the deactivation of the traffic signals on Highway 97 at Nancee Way.
The interchange is scheduled to open and be fully operational early Saturday afternoon.
The Westside Road Interchange project is 65 per cent complete. Preliminary work is underway for the construction of a highway overpass at Nancee Way, which will require a realignment of a portion of Highway 97 and detours of Nancee Way traffic until project completion in summer 2012.
Motorists are reminded that construction speed zones remain in effect throughout the project site. Motorists can also expect some evening lane closures over the next two weeks while the highway realignment is completed.
The overall value of the Westside Road Interchange project is $41 million, with funding from the provincial and federal governments. British Columbia is investing $30 million, with a federal contribution of $11 million from the Building Canada Fund.
The project is being delivered by the Westbank First Nation and remains on time and on budget.
The new Westside Road Interchange will add to other significant improvements on the Highway 97 corridor to and through West Kelowna. The $141-million W.R. Bennett Bridge and adjacent Campbell Road Interchange opened to traffic in May 2008.
As construction continues, DriveBC will have details of traffic pattern changes at: www.drivebc.ca
For a graphic of traffic pattern changes through the construction site, please visit:
Contacts:
Evelyn Lube
Project Communications
Westside Road Interchange
250 864-7395
Kate Trotter
Government Communications and Public Engagement
Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure
250 356-8241