Reversible lane mulled for bridge over lake

Official says counter-flow lane on William R. Bennett Bridge among options being looked at to improve flow of traffic

A counter-flow lane will be considered as a way of improving traffic flow on the five-lane William R. Bennett Bridge, B.C. transportation officials say.

Such a system would allow for three lanes of traffic heading into Kelowna during the morning rush hour.

Construction of a counter-flow lane is “absolutely” under consideration among all the options being reviewed to improve traffic flow in the Central Okanagan, regional transportation manager Steve Sirett told West Kelowna city council on Tuesday.

Based on current and projected traffic volumes, Sirett said, the bridge will not reach its capacity until 2040. However, there are frequent traffic james during rush hours that relate mainly to problems at intersections at either end of the bridge, he said.

Recommendations coming out of the Central Okanagan transportation planning study are expected later this year or early in 2019. The $2-million study was initiated by former Liberal premier Christy Clark shortly after she was elected to represent the riding of Kelowna West in 2013.

Originally conceived as a study of the feasibility of a second lake crossing, the study has evolved to look at a range of transportation challenges and possible solutions across the Central Okanagan.

Although the study is continuing longer than first expected, it is still within budget, Sirett told West Kelowna council.

Key decisions to be made as a result of the study include the building of an interchange at Highway 97 and Beaver Lake Road in Lake Country, and whether to widen the existing two-lane stretch of highway in Peachland or build a bypass around the town of 5,200 people.

Decisions on such costly projects are at least two years away, Sirett told West Kelowna council.

To improve traffic flow along the highway corridor, the government has built interchanges in West Kelowna at Campbell Road, Westside Road and Sneena Road. There are plans for two more interchanges, at Westlake Road and Boucherie Road.

The William R. Bennett Bridge has three westbound lanes so traffic is not slowed by heavy trucks as they climb a steep hill on the west side of the crossing.

A counter-flow lane existed on the old three-lane Okanagan Lake bridge, which was in service from 1958 until it was replaced by the new crossing in 2008.