Highway barriers are coming
Photo: Darren Handschuh
Median barriers are to come to the stretch of motorway which claimed the life of an Enderby man this week.
The British Columbia Ministry of Transportation confirms that the concrete barriers will be placed from the south of the Swan Lake overpass on Highway 97, continuing north for 7.8 kilometers on Highway 97A to Pleasant Valley Road in Spallumcheen.
“Our thoughts are with everyone affected by Tuesday’s incident,” a ministry spokesman said on Friday. “The safety of people on our highways is our top priority.”
The new barriers follow the installation in 2021 of median barriers further north, six kilometers from the intersection of Smith Drive to Pleasant Valley Road.
“Planning has now been completed for the installation of a concrete median barrier beginning south of the Swan Lake overpass on Highway 97 and continuing north for approximately 7.8 km on Highway 97A to Pleasant Valley Road, creating a continuous barrier along that route,” they said from the ministry.
The new project is expected to go out to tender this summer and be completed in the spring of 2023.
Tuesday’s crash near the north end of Swan Lake claimed the life of a 69-year-old Enderby man whose pickup truck crossed the center line and collided with a tandem dump truck.
The dump truck driver, shocked by the tragedy, called for barriers to be put in place, saying they could have prevented the fatality.
“If the barriers were there, they would have stopped him from crossing the center line and maybe saved his life,” Will Auben said Thursday.
The installation of a barrier in 2021 far north followed another fatal accident in 2019 that claimed the life of Vernon music teacher Ruth Blenko.
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