Penticton Indian Band bridge and hotel get federal cash

PENTICTON – A new, federally funded bridge is going to be built over the Okanagan River Channel near the Penticton Regional Airport.

Aboriginal Affairs minister Bernard Valcourt has announced the federal government will spend $2.4 million on a bridge that will create road access from Highway 97 to about 60 hectares of First Nation land. The money is coming from the Community Opportunity Readiness Program.

The feds have already spent $500,000 on engineering and design work for the bridge.

Valcourt told a media conference Saturday morning the Satikw Crossing will create $2 million a year in revenue for the Band and 600 jobs over the next ten years.

"The Satikw Crossing Bridge and development is going to create jobs and expand the shopping opportunities for the Southern Interior,” Penticton Indian Band chief Jonathan Kruger says in a media release. “It will be an economic boost for the Band, our certificate of possession land holders and the whole region."

The bridge, near Green Avenue, is part of a long term economic strategy which includes the development of retail business, 270,000 square feet of business and light commercial space and a 150 room hotel.

Penticton mayor Garry Litke says he is certain the project will contribute to economic development and prosperity, “not only for both of our communities but for the entire South Okanagan region."

The bridge project will go to tender in November and shovels could be in the ground by January next year.

To contact the reporter for this story, email Meaghan Archer at marcher@infotelnews.ca or call 250-488-3065. To contact the editor, email mjones@infotelnews.ca or call 250-718-2724.