British Columbia Highway 97

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British Columbia Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure
Length	2,081 km (1,293 mi)
Existed	1953–present
Component highways	(1) Okanagan Highway between Osoyoos and Vernon (2) Vernon-Monte Creek Highway between Vernon and Monte Creek (3) Cariboo Highway between Cache Creek and Prince George (4) John Hart Highway between Prince George and Dawson Creek (5) Alaska Highway between Dawson Creek and Watson Lake, Yukon
Major junctions
South end	US 97 at the Canada–United States border near Osoyoos
Major intersections	Hwy 3 in Osoyoos Hwy 33 in Kelowna Hwy 6 in Vernon Monte Creek Kamloops Hwy 99 near Cache Creek Hwy 24 in 93 Mile House Hwy 16 (TCH) in Prince George Hwy 2 in Dawson Creek Hwy 77 near Fort Nelson
North end	Hwy 1 at the Yukon border
Location
Country	Canada
Province	British Columbia
Regional districts	Summerland, Peachland, Lake Country, 100 Mile House, Chetwynd, Taylor
Highway system
British Columbia provincial highways
← Hwy 97A

Highway 97 is a major highway in the

The busiest section of Highway 97 is in West Kelowna, carrying almost 70,000 vehicles per day. Some sections in the northern regions of the province have as few as 250 vehicles per day.[1]^[2]

Okanagan Highway

Crossing Okanagan Lake via the William R. Bennett Bridge in Kelowna.

Okanagan Highway passing through Lake Country, between Kelowna and Vernon.

The Okanagan Highway is a 189 km (117 mi) section of Highway 97 between the international border and the junction of

13 km (8 mi) north of Kaleden, Highway 97 arrives at the city of Penticton. North of Penticton, Highway 97 follows the western shore of Okanagan Lake for 45 km (28 mi), through the communities of Summerland and Peachland, before reaching its junction with Highway 97C just south of Westbank. From there, Highway 97 passes through West Kelowna and reserve lands belonging to the Westbank First Nation until, 15 km (9 mi) northeast of the 97C junction, Highway 97 begins to cross Okanagan Lake via the William R. Bennett Bridge. The highway enters the city of Kelowna upon landfall on the east shore of the lake. 6 km (4 mi) east into the city centre, the highway reaches its junction with Highway 33. As the Okanagan is a very popular travel destination and also has the highest population in inland B.C. (about 300,000), this section of highway 97 is by far the busiest. Congestion is frequent - particularly near the William Bennett Bridge, and Southbound towards West Kelowna.

Four kilometres (21⁄2 mi) north of the Highway 33 junction, Highway 97 leaves the urbanized area of Kelowna (the municipal boundary is actually a further 12 km, 7 mi, north). For the next 43 km (27 mi), the route travels well east of Okanagan Lake, passing through the community of

Highway 97 then passes along the west shore of Kalamalka Lake before entering the city of Vernon and a junction with Highway 6 just south of the city centre. The highway then travels north for 10 km (6 mi) to a junction with Highway 97A near Swan Lake.

Vernon-Kamloops-Cache Creek

Highway 97 continues northwest from Highway 97A for 81 km (50 mi), past the town of

The term Cariboo Highway originally applied to the reconstructed route from Hope through the Fraser Canyon to Cache Creek and Prince George. Constructed in 1924-25, the new gravel toll highway opened in 1926, giving road access to canyon communities cut off since the destruction of parts of the Cariboo Road by construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway in the 1880s. The Cariboo Highway designation for the Fraser Canyon portion of the route was supplanted with the completion and naming of the Trans-Canada Highway c.-1962. Portions of the old highway survive as local streets, some carrying the name Old Cariboo Highway (as in Prince George).

John Hart Highway

This 405 km-long (252 mi) stretch of Highway 97, named for former British Columbia Premier

This northernmost section of Highway 97 is 965 km (600 mi) long, and travels north through largely unpopulated wilderness, intersecting the communities of

Major intersections

From south to north: ^[4][5]

Regional District	Location	km[6]	mi	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Okanagan-Similkameen	​	0.00	0.00		US 97 south – Oroville, Wenatchee	Continues into Washington; Okanagan Highway south end
				Oroville-Osoyoos Border Crossing
	Vancouver	Former south end of Hwy 3A concurrency.
	Oliver	24.53	15.24		Fairview Road – Mount Baldy Ski Area
	​	51.67	32.11		Vancouver	Former north end of Hwy 3A concurrency.
	Penticton	60.41	37.54		Skaha Lake Road – City Centre
		63.35	39.36		Fairview Road, Green Mountain Road – Apex Mountain Resort
		65.19	40.51		Eckhardt Avenue – City Centre, Naramata
	Summerland	80.98	50.32		Rosedale Avenue – Town Centre
Peachland	101.81	63.26		Princeton Avenue, Beach Avenue – Town Centre
	103.91	64.57		Ponderossa Drive, 13th Street – Town Centre
	Peachland–West Kelowna boundary	109.01	67.74		Vancouver	Drought Hill interchange
	West Kelowna	111.14	69.06		Glenrosa Road	Glenrosa Road interchange
		112.48– 113.83	69.89– 70.73	One-way pair through Westbank
		119.81	74.45		Hudson Road, Westside Road	Westside Road interchange
		124.33	77.26		Campbell Road	Campbell Road interchange
Okanagan Lake		124.74– 125.81	77.51– 78.17	William R. Bennett Bridge
Kelowna	126.32	78.49		Abbot Street
	126.56	78.64	South end of HOV lanes[7]
				Pandosy Street, Water Street
	129.58	80.52		Spall Road
	132.36	82.24		Hwy 33 south – Big White Ski Resort, Rock Creek
	137.09	85.18		Edwards Road
			North end of HOV lanes[7]
	138.19	85.87		John Hindle Drive – UBC Okanagan	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
	139.08	86.42		University Way – UBC Okanagan	No northbound exit
	140.31	87.18		Airport Way – Kelowna International Airport	Interchange proposed (no timeline)[8]
	Lake Country	148.29	92.14		Beaver Lake Road, Glenmore Road
		152.67	94.86		Pelmewash Parkway	Wood Lake interchange Northbound exit and southbound entrance
		160.51	99.74		Pelmewash Parkway, Gatzke Road	Gatzke Road interchange
North Okanagan	Vernon	179.34	111.44		25th Avenue (Hwy 6 east) – Lumby, Nelson
		181.44	112.74		48th Avenue – Silver Star Mountain Resort
		183.02	113.72		27th Street	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
	Sicamous	Swan Lake interchange Hwy 97 branches west; Okanagan Highway north end; Vernon-Monte Creek Highway south end
Hwy 922:1126 north)
Salmon Arm	Monte Creek interchange East end of Hwy 1 concurrency; Vernon-Monte Creek Highway north end; exit numbers follow Hwy 1
	​	271.74	168.85	396[i] 397[ii]	Hook Road	Hook Road interchange
	Kamloops	278.29	172.92	390[i] 391[ii]	Lafarge Road	Tumbleweed interchange
		281.98	175.21	386[i] 388[ii]	Kokanee Way	Kokanee Way interchange
		286.65	178.12	384	Kipp Road, Dallas Drive, Barnhartvale Road	Nina Place/Kipp Road interchange Westbound exit and entrance
		287.05	178.36	384	Kipp Road, Dallas Drive, Barnhartvale Road	Eastbound right-in/right-out
		Gap in freeway; 6 signalized intersections
		295.26	183.47	375	Battle Street – City Centre	Valleyview interchange No eastbound exit
		295.71	183.75	374	Hwy 5 (YH) north – Sun Peaks, Jasper	Yellowhead interchange East end of Hwy 5 concurrency
		299.20	185.91	370	Summit Drive – City Centre	Springhill interchange Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
		300.13	186.49	369	Columbia Street – City Centre	Sagebrush interchange Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
		301.08	187.08	368	Hwy 5A south / Hillside Way – Merritt	Sagebrush interchange
		301.87	187.57	367	Pacific Way	Pacific Way interchange
		303.55	188.62	366	Copperhead Drive, Lac le Jeune Road	Copperhead interchange
		307.78	191.25	362	Vancouver	Afton interchange West end of Hwy 5 concurrency; Hwy 1 / Hwy 97 exits freeway
	Savona	343.74	213.59	Savona Bridge (Kamloops Lake Bridge) across Thompson River
	Vancouver	West end of Hwy 1 concurrency; Hwy 97 branches north; Cariboo Highway south end
	​	390.79	242.83		Lillooet, Pemberton	Scenic route to Vancouver
Little Fort
	Hwy 924:1290 east)
		494.80	307.45		Canim Hendrix Lake Road ( Hwy 927:1142 north) – Forest Grove, Canim Lake, Hendrix Lake
	Hwy 928:1143 north)
	Williams Lake	582.63	362.03		Hwy 20 west / Oliver Street – City Centre, Alexis Creek, Bella Coola
	Quesnel	699.43	434.61		Northstar Road	Northstar Road interchange
		700.22	435.10	Quesnel River Bridge across Quesnel River
		701.25	435.74		Carson Avenue, Moffat Approach – Nazko
		706.93	439.27		Barkerville
Hwy 97A
	Prince George	814.84	506.32		Boundary Road	Proposed Hwy 16 bypass[9]
		700.22	435.10	Simon Fraser Bridge across Fraser River
		819.72	509.35		Queensway, Ferry Avenue	Grade separated
		821.04	510.17		Hwy 16 (TCH/YH) – Terrace, Prince Rupert, Jasper, Edmonton
		821.74	510.61		Massey Drive, Pine Centre Road	Massey Drive interchange
		823.00	511.39		15th Avenue
		824.14	512.10		5th Avenue
		824.77	512.49	John Hart Bridge across Nechako River; Cariboo Highway north end; John Hart Highway south end
		825.32	512.83		North Nechako Road	North Nechako Road interchange
	​	977.42	607.34		Hwy 39 north – Mackenzie
Peace River district line	​	1,015.72	631.14	Pine Pass – el. 933 m (3,061 ft)
Hudson's Hope, Fort St. John	South end of Hwy 29 concurrency
	​	1,128.46	701.19		Tumbler Ridge	North end of Hwy 29 concurrency
		1,205.75	749.22		Tumbler Ridge
	Dawson Creek	1,225.37	761.41		Hwy 2 east to Hwy 49 – City Centre, Grande Prairie, Edmonton	John Hart Highway north end; Alaska Highway south end
	​	1,257.17	781.17	Kiskatinaw Bridge across Kiskatinaw River
	Taylor	1,278.47– 1,279.20	794.40– 794.86	Taylor Bridge across Peace River
	Fort St. John	1,297.04	805.94		100th Street – Cecil Lake, Fairview	Connects to unofficial Hwy 103
	​	1,309.56	813.72		Hudson's Hope, Chetwynd
Northern Rockies	Fort Nelson	1,676.71– 1,678.85	1,041.86– 1,043.19	Passes through Fort Nelson
	​	1,706.52	1,060.38		Hwy 77 north (Liard Highway) – Fort Liard, Fort Simpson
		1,819.57	1,130.63	Summit Pass – 1,267 m (4,157 ft)
		1,985.48	1,233.72	Liard River Bridge across Liard River
		2,045.67	1,271.12	Coal River Bridge across Coal River
Unorganized	​	2,128.1– 2,129.3	1,322.3– 1,323.1	1.2 km (0.7 mi) section in Yukon (Remains as BC 97)[10]
		2,132.0– 2,140.4	1,324.8– 1,330.0	8.4 km (5.2 mi) section in Yukon (Remains as BC 97)[10]
		2,142.2– 2,144.6	1,331.1– 1,332.6	2.4 km (1.5 mi) section in Yukon (Remains as BC 97)[10]
Unorganized (Stikine Region)	​	2,159.23	1,341.68	Hyland River Bridge across Hyland River
		2,189.47	1,360.47		Whitehorse	60th parallel; Continues into Yukon
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       HOV only       Incomplete access       Route transition

References