Road link to UBCO shifts out of neutral
$11.6M extension of John Hindle Drive expected to go to tender ‘in the coming weeks’
Delays associated with construction of a long-sought new road link to UBC Okanagan have been resolved, provincial officials say.
Construction of the John Hindle Drive extension from the city dump to the university campus was to have started last fall, according to the project’s original timeline.
But the $11.6-million project won’t even be put to tender for a few more weeks, the Ministry of Transportation says.
“Time was required to finalize utility designs with utility companies, as well as discussions with UBCO regarding roadway connections,” the ministry said Wednesday in an emailed statement.
“Working with the City of Kelowna, who have managed the engineering and are providing the land for the project, the province is now in a position to move forward with tendering the project, which is expected in the coming weeks,” the statement says.
The 1.6-kilometre-long John Hindle Drive extension, which will include a multi-use pathway for pedestrians and cyclists, is expected to be finished by June 2018.
Ottawa and Victoria each are contributing $3.5 million, with the city’s contribution at $4.6 million.
When the participation of senior governments was announced in November 2014, it was suggested by city officials the road would be complete by the fall of 2016.
The engineering of the project may have proved more complicated than city officials first anticipated, since there is a considerable grade separation between the current endpoint of John Hindle Drive and where it will connect with the campus.
City officials have declined to comment on specific reasons for the delay, referring questions to the provincial government. However, the city does say public information sessions on the project design and construction schedule will be held in mid-March.
The north Glenmore campus was established in 1993, when the university was known as Okanagan University College.
Other efforts to build a road link from Glenmore to the university faltered because of delays in acquiring the necessary property, a failed partnership between the city and a developer, and opposition from the Agricultural Land Commission.
“You can literally see the university from Glenmore Road, but you can’t get there. That just doesn’t make any sense to me,” Coun. Luke Stack said in 2008, when he was first elected.
Since the university opened, students, faculty and staff have reached the campus via a long drive up Highway 97 almost to the airport. The Glenmore connection will shorten the commute for many of them.