UPDATE (3:15 p.m.): The Ministry of Transportation has released a statement regarding the heavy winds that have sent waves crashing over the barriers along Antler's Beach in Peachland.
The statement read as follows:
The recent windy weather has caused high waves from Okanagan Lake to breach the concrete barriers at Antler's Beach. As a result, some waves reached Highway 97 yesterday. The concrete barriers are in place to protect the highway. The ministry is aware of this issue and our maintenance contractor, Argo, is on site and will be placing additional armouring and barriers at this location. The highway is currently open to traffic in both directions; however, motorists could experience delays this evening, as the ministry may need to reduce traffic to a single lane in either direction to accommodate additional work at the site.
UPDATE (2:20 p.m.): The waves are crashing into the road off of Antlers Beach.
We have several videos and photos to share with you from readers. Each video shows a different perspective, with the last one showing the waves spraying onto the highway as the vehicle drives through.
This video was shot by Kellie Howe based on what she was seeing near Peachland.
Howe was heading south to Penticton for work and said the wind was incredibly strong.
"Strong enough I had to fight to keep the vehicle in my lane at Summerland," said Howe.
She added that there was quite a bit of debris on the North lane of 97.
According to Elsie Lemke, CAO for the District of Peachland, the waves are crashing up against the road from Antlers Beach.
Lemke walked over to check out the situation.
"The block wall that was built there last week has toppled over. It's toppled forward into the water," said Lemke.
"The blocks are really large. They're those huge concrete blocks that have to be placed by an excavator."
Lemke added that the Ministry of Transportation is onsite but workers appear to be waiting for either more equipment or manpower to clean up the area and attempt to keep the highway clear.
"It actually appears to be holding back the erosion but the waves are hitting pretty hard and coming onto the highway along with some debris," said Lemke.
Original Story: Due to Thursday's unusually high winds, the waves from Okanagan Lake are crashing up against Highway 97 and compromising parts of the road at Antlers Beach near Peachland.
Tom Ockleton's wife, Karen was driving back to Kelowna from Penticton and called to let him know about the wave situation.
Allan Dieckmann was driving by and happened to take a video of the waves crashing over the concrete barrier.
"There's a load of guys on there desperately trying to protect the road but the lake is like the ocean in Victoria, that's how my wife described it," said Tom Ockleton.
"The water is just brown and dirty because it's just chipping away at the road and the road is kind of just crumbling away."
According to Tom's wife, Karen, the traffic was heavy and almost at a stop as crews worked to control the situation.
If you have photos or any information on the section of Highway 97 that's been compromised by water, please send them via Facebook or email them to news@kelownanow.com.
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