Several members of the sa国际传媒 Conservative Party lashed out at the NDP government for its inaction on Highway 97 between Summerland and Peachland 鈥 a roadway that has been closed numerous times in the past several years due to rockslides and wildfires.
Premier David Eby and the NDP government have allowed this critical corridor - which handles more than 20,000 vehicles per day - to be plagued by closures, delays and risks that are not acceptable, said Harman Bhangu, MLA for Langley-Abbotsford and Shadow Minister of Transportation.
Several Conservative Party members from the Okanagan Valley joined Bhangu at a press conference held near the site of the 2023 major landslide between Summerland and Peachland that closed the highway for a period of time.
Work continues to this day to stabilize the rock face of the mountain that sits on the west side of the highway.
Bhangu was joined by Penticton-Summerland MLA Amelia Boultbee (Shadow Minister of Children and Family Services), Misty Van Popta, MLA for Langley-Walnut (Shadow Minister of Infrastructure and Construction), Macklin McCall, MLA for West sa国际传媒-Peachland (Shadow Minister of Emergency Management), Kristina Loewen, MLA for sa国际传媒 Centre (Critic for Rural Housing and Building Code) and Tara Armstrong, MLA for sa国际传媒-Lake Country-Coldstream (Shadow Minister of Social Development and Poverty Reduction).
The MLAs met with Summerland Mayor Doug Holmes and Peachland Mayor Patrick Van Minsel just prior to the press conference.
鈥淭his morning, we gather at this site, which serves as a glaring example of the NDP governmentsa国际传媒 mismanagement of our governmentsa国际传媒 infrastructure,鈥 said Bhangu. 鈥淗ighway 97 is a lifeline for the people of the Okanagan. It connects families, businesses and entire towns.
鈥淏ut in recent years, this critical corridor has been plagued by the closures and delays and risks that are simply unacceptable. We鈥檙e here today to recognize the hard work being done to keep these routes open and call attention to what needs to happen next.鈥
The repeated closure of this major corridor effects every driver, every family and every business in the Okanagan, he said.
鈥淚t demands immediate action,鈥 he said.
Van Popta echoed many of the same sentiments, saying this highway is the only viable route for thousands of drivers from the South Okanagan.
鈥淗ighway 97 is a vital artery in sa国际传媒sa国际传媒 transportation network,鈥 she said. 鈥淭his section of road carries 20,000 vehicles a day, yet it is regularly closed by rockslides, wildfires, downed power lines and accidents.鈥
The massive 2023 rockslide that caused so much damage resulted in more than 3,000 cubic metres of rock, dirt, gravel and debris ending up on the highway, she said.
鈥淭his disrupted thousands of lives and took the NDP almost a year to clear,鈥 she said. 鈥淥ur province cannot afford to have highways shut down for months at a time. The NDP governmentsa国际传媒 temporary reactive measures and leisurely time frames are simply not good enough.
鈥淒avid Eby and the NDP have neglected the residents of the Okanagan for far too long. We need a bold, comprehensive plan to proactively address these infrastructure vulnerabilities, before they become full blown crisis.鈥
Ensuring these constant closures don鈥檛 continue is going to take 鈥渓ooking at the big picture鈥 and investigating options like soil stabilization and fire prevention, widening the road and shoulders so emergency vehicles can bypass regular traffic and upgrading alternative routes such as forest roads to serve as viable options when emergencies take place, said Van Popta.
鈥淭he NDPsa国际传媒 current emergency routes are unprepared, especially during the winter months,鈥 she said.
When sa国际传媒sa国际传媒 Bennett Bridge was closed Monday for 10 hours after a man said he was carrying dangerous devices in his vehicle, many residents across the region got stuck on poorly serviced roads, she said.
鈥淭he cost of inaction is too high, not just in dollars, but in the livelihoods and well-being of British Columbians,鈥 she said. 鈥淚tsa国际传媒 time for a provincial government that will treat the issue with the urgency it deserves.鈥
McCall said as the MLA for the region where the rockslide occurred, hesa国际传媒 seen the impact of these road closures first hand.
鈥淚 know residents here are tired of constant disruptions,鈥 he said. 鈥淲e are tired of being left behind as the NDP choose to delay work year after year. The Conservative Party of BC is calling on the NDP government to prioritize Highway 97 in the upcoming budget.
鈥淪pecifically, we are demanding immediate action to stabilize this section of Highway 97, while accelerating long-term repairs, investment and upgrades, including wider shoulders, fire prevention and improved emergency detour routes.鈥
These demands are not about fixing potholes or clearing debris, itsa国际传媒 about ensuring families can get to work and school, businesses can thrive and emergency vehicles can reach people in need as quickly as possible, said McCall.
鈥淲ith the right leadership, we can assure Highway 97 is safe and reliable for generations to come,鈥 he said. 鈥淭he Okanagan deserves better and we won鈥檛 stop fighting for you until we get it.鈥
Answering a question from a journalist, McCall said a long stretch of Highway 97 between Summerland and Peachland remains under threat as there haven鈥檛 been any proactive steps by the NDP government to ensure that rock and soil doesn鈥檛 come pouring down onto the highway.
Stabilizing the rock and soil after a serious incident isn鈥檛 good enough, McCall said.
鈥淚 think there has been talks happening, plans coming, but we need action now,鈥 he said. 鈥淭he Okanagan Valley has really been neglected by the NDP. The fact of the matter is if we have an unstable roadway and side of the mountain that is potentially coming down, or could at any time be a landslide, thatsa国际传媒 a public safety issue.
鈥淪o we need to address these things today and not five years, 10 years, and so on, down the road.鈥
While theresa国际传媒 no suggestion of building another highway through this part of the Okanagan, there should be plans in place to provide a viable secondary route, especially considering how often Highway 97 has been closed for various reasons, said Bhangu.
鈥淚 think that is critical. We need to figure out a plan,鈥 he said.
鈥榃e understand theresa国际传媒 been studies done all along here, but that shouldn鈥檛 be 鈥榣etsa国际传媒 just pack it in and theresa国际传媒 no solution鈥. We can actually create an emergency route and thatsa国际传媒 what we鈥檝e talked to the mayors about this morning. That could be action we can take now to help the residents in the immediate future.鈥
There have been studies about moving forward with an alternate route between Penticton and sa国际传媒 in the past and those studies should be looked at again, said Van Popta.
The NDP government has been in power since 2017 under John Horgan and later Eby and they have constantly failed to spend taxpayer money on major infrastructure projects that help millions of British Columbians, said Bhangu.
鈥淭hey haven鈥檛 actually finished a single infrastructure job,鈥 he said. 鈥淭o say that they鈥檙e going to come in here and start assessing things. They need to finish some projects before they even start anything else.鈥
