By Tom Mark

Enderby Receives Highway 97A Study Results

May 28, 2018 | 6:40 AM

Enderby has heard back from the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure on a study it conducted on the traffic load on Highway 97-A

Mayor Greg McCune says the data that came back wasn’t anything people in Enderby didn’t already know.

He’s hopeful though the Ministry has a clearer picture.

“I think they knew there was a lot of traffic and that it triggered this study which now has triggered the need for some improvements to the, or a major highway position and project.”

But when that trigger will be pulled remains to be seen.

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McCune says the Ministry did remind the city it’s a 25 year process but he’s confident something will happen now.

“It’ll be referred to a consultant engineering group. They’ll start to do possible potential design stuff. That’ll come back. The public will get involved.”

He thinks that will happen over the next couple of years.

McCune says the Ministry will take a look at a couple of zones where traffic figures may have been affected by people avoiding wildfire areas and the bridge washout in the Salmon Valley area.

The Mayor says the study did provide a true picture of where people were going.

“So obviously a lot of people from Enderby choose to go, if they need things, they go to Salmon Arm or Vernon. But it’s the actual people from Salmon Arm, Revelstoke, Sicamous, whatever that are traveling through Vernon to Kelowna and then vice versa.”

And then seeing traffic from out-of-province coming through, showing not just one traffic issue, but as many as three.

McCune says the study came back showing 16 to 18 thousand vehicles a day, a number he says will hit around 22 to 25 thousand range in the summer.

“Their data indicated based in the study, again, summer as just being July and August so we reminded them it’s more likely April 10th to October 30th where there’s struggles in the community.”

Last year, it was estimated traffic was already at the 2025 volume projections.

McCune says he thinks the new data will show the urgency for a need for improvements, including the possibility of twinning the highway.

by Tom Mark