It’s going to be a busy construction season in Kelowna this summer, but in the long run, the City will be better off for it.
As part of a $90 million capital investment series, a variety of Kelowna roadways will see some much needed attention this summer.
According to City of Kelowna Project Manager Purvez Irani, construction on Lakeshore Road is a major priority for the City, as it runs as a main artery for high volume traffic.
Following bridge construction and transportation improvements from Cook to Lexington, Lakeshore Road will see the implementation of a two-lane cross section with an opposing centre left turn lane, a multi-use pathway, and sidewalk upgrades.
Lakeshore Road will also undergo a bit of urbanization including landscaping, irrigated boulevards, centre medians, retaining walls, as well as lighting and signals. The project is expected to cost $4.6 million and is scheduled to start in June and finish in October, 2015.
Although Lakeshore is a priority, the John Hindle Drive extension is the most expensive project on the agenda.
Completion of the final phase of John Hindle includes a major east-west link between Glenmore Road to UBCO, as a new two lane road with multi-use pathway will be implemented on the south side from the New Landfill entrance to the Hollywood Road roundabout.
When complete, the extension of John Hindle Drive is expected to improve traffic flow and travel times by creating an alternate access to the UBCO campus while diverting traffic from Highway 97, Glenmore Road, and Sexsmith Road.
The budget for the project is $11.6 million and will begin fall of 2015. The project has been accelerated thanks to joint federal, provincial, and municipal funding partnership and the expected completion date is September 2017.
The last major construction project on the agenda is the Ethel Street Active Transportation Corridor. Phase one of the project includes full urbanization of the corridor between Harvey and Bernard: new curb and gutter sidewalks, crosswalks, cycle tracks, street and pedestrian level lighting, and watermain and storm drainage works.
The budget for this phase of the project is $2 million and will begin in the summer of 2015 with an expected completion date of fall, 2015.
A traffic management plan for the 2015 summer construction projects is in the works and will most likely involve alternating single lane traffic.
Traffic access for these construction projects will not be completely shut off, but Project Manager Irani said the construction will be of some inconvenience.
However, as Irani said, it’s going to benefit our community in the long run.
“The inconvenience is for a short period of time, the project is going to be there decades.”
This article is the last feature of a KelownaNow development series. To checkout the previous articles on parking, bike lanes, the RCMP building, the Queensway and Pandosy transit exchanges, and parks, click on these links.
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