Highways ministry preparing to fix South Okanagan highways damaged by spring freshet

PENTICTON – Three problem areas on South Okanagan highways damaged by recent flooding are finally about to undergo repair work.

Two locations on Highway 3A, one at Yellow Lake, and the other at the top of the “S” curves around five kilometres south of the junction of Highway 97, and a third location on Waterman’s Hill just north of Okanagan Falls, were damaged by last spring’s freshet, and a portion of the highway in each location has been closed ever since.

Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure media spokesperson Danielle Pope says ministry staff will be the areas on Highway 97 and 3A next week to confirm final details of repair work scheduled to begin in October.

Pope says the work on Highway 97 at Waterman’s Hill and the top of the “S” curves on Highway 3A should be completed this winter.

At Yellow Lake, a slide that occurred across Highway 3A in April caused a significant amount of damage to the road bed and a full closure that lasted several days.

More than 9,000 cubic metres of material was deposited on the highway.

Pope says ministry staff have been performing technical engineering work in order to determine the best option to repair the site and safely reopen all lanes to traffic.

Currently, the highway is open to single lane, alternating traffic, controlled by a light.

Pope says the ministry hopes to begin repairs in October, to be completed later this fall.

Information regarding expected traffic delays for all three areas will be posted to Drive BC and @Drive BC on Twitter.

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