Planned pedestrian overpass in downtown Kelowna triples in cost

There has been talk of a pedestrian/cycling overpass on Highway 97 in downtown Kelowna for more than a decade.

It was required by the Ministry of Transportation as part of the Central Green housing project on the site of the former Kelowna Secondary School off Richter Street.

The original budget was $4.4 million.

City council will be asked on Monday, Aug. 28, to approve funding of $12.1 million, almost triple the original estimate, due in large part to construction cost increases.

“The Central Green site has now reached the density thresholds to trigger the overpass requirement,” the report going to council says. “Construction of the final two buildings fronting Highway 97 (Harvey Avenue) is underway and the development's substantial completion is scheduled for the end of 2024.”

If approved, construction of the overpass will start this fall and wind up the same time as the Central Green buildings near the end of 2024. That development was first approved in 2011.

READ MORE: Why Central Green never became the 'gateway' to Kelowna

Another 8,300 housing units are expected to be built in nearby areas.

“These development projections highlight the current and future demand for an accessible, safe and comfortable connection between downtown and neighbourhoods to the south,” the report says.

The overpass is to be four metres wide with a 47-metre span over the highway. The south ramp will be 89 metres and the north ramp, leading to Bertram Street, will be 132 metres.

Most of the extra money, $7.2 million, will come from a provincial Growing Communities Fund grant while $500,000 will be transferred from other transportation projects in the city.

Despite the massive price increase, the project cost is in line with similar pedestrian overpasses in Canada, the report says.

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