MLA for West Kelowna - Peachland Macklin McCall/X

By Jamie Tawil

MLA frustrated

West Kelowna MLA renews call for second bridge crossing

Aug 20, 2025 | 10:12 AM

Growing traffic congestion in the Central Okanagan, specifically in West Kelowna is renewing calls for a second bridge over Okanagan Lake and long-promised upgrades to Highway 97.

West Kelowna–Peachland MLA Macklin McCall, who also serves as Opposition critic for emergency management, says traffic delays on the corridor have become intolerable.

“As you guys know, right here in the Central Okanagan the region gets bogged down with heavy traffic, especially in the summer months,” McCall said in a video posted to X on Wednesday. “It could take you 30 minutes to an hour on top of your regular trip just to get to important locations like the hospital, the airport or downtown Kelowna.”

He said the problem is worsened by the fact Highway 97 is a key provincial route, stretching from the U.S. border through the Okanagan and into northern B.C.

Rapid growth in West Kelowna is adding to the pressure, McCall said. “Several years in a row, West Kelowna was the fastest-growing municipality in the province. We know it’s only going to get bigger. So we need to look at solutions now.”

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Among those solutions, he said, are a second lake crossing and long-awaited interchanges in West Kelowna.

“When they built this bridge, part of the agreement was that they would build interchanges and overpasses in West Kelowna,” he said, citing intersections at Westlake Road, Boucherie Road and Horizon Drive. “That agreement was entered into over a decade ago, and still to this day there’s no construction.”

The consultation process for those projects was scheduled to wrap up in 2021.

McCall said the province needs to act.

“We need the government to get these projects completed, get them started even. It will go a long way for us to start taking action here.”

He added the Conservative Party of B.C. supports building a second crossing and upgrading infrastructure to relieve pressure on the William R. Bennett Bridge.

Vernon Matters has reached out to the Ministry of Transportation for comment.