By Tiffany Goodwein

Median along Hwy 97A contingent on funding: Ministry of Transportation

Dec 4, 2019 | 4:48 PM

A portion of Highway 97A that claimed two lives in less than a year meets the requirements for a median barrier, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Transportation confirmed.

“The ministry conducted a review of that section of Highway 97A from Eagle Rock Road to Pleasant Valley Road. The review determined that this 1.3 kilometre-stretch meets our requirements for median barrier,” the spokesperson said.

The ministry stressed construction of the median is contingent on funding, and they are now working to find the funds to begin installation.

Official confirmation from the Ministry of Transportation comes after Vernon-Monashee MLA Eric Foster first told Vernon Matters Monday that a median is on its way following a fatal crash on Sunday that claimed a woman’s life.

“The engineering has all been done, and the risk assessment and so on is all finished, and the ministry has determined that they will be installing a meridian,” Foster said in a previous interview.

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The MLA said that he began pushing for a median following the death of Ruth Blencoe in February.

Blencoe was killed in a head-on crash along Hwy. 97A and Pleasant Valley Road after her vehicle slid across the line and hit an oncoming vehicle while on the way to work. The crash site was just meters away from where a second woman was killed Sunday.

The granddaughter of Ruth Blencoe, Jessica Tabe launched a petition immediately after hearing about Sunday’s fatal collision.

She told Vernon Matters that while her family has been promised the installation of a median, more needs to be done to speed up the process so other lives are not lost.

“Nothing still has been done and now someone else has now died on that highway from a head on collision just like my grandma. It just doesn’t make sense. Like, why isn’t this important?” Tabe said.

The online petition has since garnered over 900 signatures.

by Tiffany Goodwein

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