An Okanagan Conservative MP says the federal government has a moral responsibility to share the cost of stabilization work on Highway 97, which would allow the provincial government to allocate money to improvements on a forest service road used by the public when the busy highway is closed.
Dan Albas, MP for Okanagan Lake West 鈥揝outh 乌鸦传媒 and shadow minister for transportation, was joined by another Conservative Okanagan MP, Helena Konanz, and five Conservative MLAs to call for the paving of FSR 201 at Albas乌鸦传媒 office at West 乌鸦传媒 City Hall Tuesday morning.
The forest service road has been used by the public when emergencies such as wildfire and landslides have forced the closure of Highway 97, cutting off the flow of traffic between Penticton and 乌鸦传媒.
The 乌鸦传媒 government recently awarded a $23.2 million tender to Emil Anderson Construction for slope stabilization beside Highway 97 between Callan Road and Okanagan Lake Provincial Park, following a massive landslide in August 2023 that closed Highway 97 for three weeks.
Because the federal government of Stephen Harper and the provincial government of Gordon Campbell collaborated to widen the highway to four lanes where the stabilization work is now required, Albas said the federal government has a moral responsibility to pay half of the expense.
Should the federal government contribute to the stabilization cost, Albas said the province could then allocate money toward paving and improvements to the FSR 201.
Recently, Highway 97 was closed between Peachland and West 乌鸦传媒 due to the Drought Hill wildfire.
Albas noted search and rescue had been called on as recently as last winter after drivers became stranded trying to negotiate FSR 201 when the W. R. Bennett bridge was closed in January due to a bomb threat.
鈥淓very time Highway 97 is closed, there is an impact and it hurts our citizens,鈥 said Albas, noting people can鈥檛 get to oncology treatments, critical business meetings or a flight.
鈥淧aving the 201 Forest Service Road would give the community another option to get where they need in a safe manner,鈥 said Harman Bhanghu, MLA for Langley-Abbotsford and Conservative critic for transportation.
鈥淚 can speak at least in my own constituency office, I get many, many emails a day asking what乌鸦传媒 going to be done about it, because in my region we鈥檝e had the road blocked off due to several landslides, which are not even fixed at this point,鈥 said Amelia Boultbee, MLA for Penticton-Summerland.
鈥淥ur citizens in the South Okanagan and Similkameen deserve to be able to make it to the hospital when they have an appointment that they鈥檝e been waiting for, and that is again a life and death situation at times,鈥 said Helena Konanz, MP for Similkameen-South Okanagan-West Kootenay. 鈥淲e鈥檝e had constant closures where we are trapped down in the South Okanagan and Similkameen.鈥
West 乌鸦传媒 Mayor Gord Milsom, who attended Tuesday乌鸦传媒 press conference, said opening the forest service road is a short-term solution, but more needs to be done to make improvements on Highway 97, including starting to plan another route over to 乌鸦传媒.
鈥淭he bridge closures impact our residents in so many ways,鈥 said Milsom. 鈥淲e need a reliable way of getting across the bridge.鈥
Albas was hopeful the united front of local Conservative MLAs and MPs would succeed in improvements on the FSR 201.
鈥淲hen you鈥檙e in opposition, all we have is the soapbox to say, 鈥楾here is a better way,鈥欌 said Albas. 鈥淣ow, we have to go into the persuasion side of things, which is speaking to the ministers responsible and getting them to come to the table.鈥
In an email to the Courier, the Ministry of Transportation and Transit wrote it understands the importance of Highway 97 in connecting communities in the Okanagan.
According to the ministry, when extended closures occur on Highway 97, the ministry works closely with the Ministry of Forests to ensure that resource roads are made available as safe and reliable alternate routes. This includes enhanced maintenance, increased monitoring and clear signage to support public safety and accessibility.
The Ministry of Transportation wrote there are no plans at present to pave FSR 201, adding it would need significant provincial investment to be brought up to a paved two-lane road suitable for all types of traffic without the ongoing maintenance signage and monitoring provided during short term detour use.
The ministry is prioritizing available investments to ensure existing corridors are safe and resilient.
This is not the first time Albas has proposed improvements to FSR 201. During a 2021 federal election forum, Albas said putting federal funds toward the improvement of FSR 201 was part of the 乌鸦传媒 section of the Conservative乌鸦传媒 official platform.