British Columbia Highway 97C

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Logan Lake
Hwy 1 (TCH) near Ashcroft
North end Hwy 1 (TCH) / Hwy 97 in Cache Creek
Location
Country
Logan Lake
Major citiesMerritt
VillagesAshcroft, Cache Creek
Highway system
←
Hwy 97D

Highway 97C is an east–west highway, forming part of an important link between the

Okanagan Valley south of Kelowna, which is the third largest metropolitan area in the province. It bisects the Coquihalla Highway at Merritt. The expressway and freeway sections of the highway is known as Okanagan Connector or Coquihalla Connector. The section of Highway 97C between Highway 5 and Highway 97 is a core route of the National Highway System
.

Route description

Highway 97C begins near

Aspen Grove, where it converges with Highway 5A. This stretch is a four-lane rural arterial highway. Highways 97C and 5A share the 24 km (15 mi) long route between Aspen Grove and the Coquihalla Highway at Meritt, where Highway 5A continues northeast and Highway 8
begins.

Highways 97C and 8 travel along Nicola Avenue through Merritt and share a 9 km (5.6 mi) concurrency to

Logan Lake, then northwest for 57 km (35 mi) to Ashcroft on the Canadian National Railway. Highway 97C then travels 6 km (3.7 mi) west from Ashcroft to where it converges with Highway 1, which takes Highway 97C north for its final 5 km (3.1 mi) to its end at Highway 97 in Cache Creek
.

History

Okanagan Lake from Highway 97C near Trepanier

Highway 97C was opened to traffic on October 1, 1990, and was constructed as the third phase of the Coquihalla Highway Project.[3] It cost $225 million to construct (equivalent to $516 million in 2023 dollars).[4][5][6]

Highway 97C was originally intended to have a freeway connection with the Coquihalla Highway approximately 30 km (19 mi) south of Merritt, near exit 256;[7] however due to protest by local residents in Merritt on the grounds that it would take tourists away from the area, the project was postponed and the freeway remains incomplete to this day.

In July 2007, the shared roadway of Highway 5A and 97C was upgraded to a two-lane road in each direction, the last segment required to enable two lanes in each direction when travelling between Vancouver and Kelowna. The upgrade was completed on July 24.[8]

When it was constructed, initial proposals had it designated as Highway 8; however, communities on the route preferred it designated as an

auxiliary route of Highway 97, hence its Highway 97C designation.[9]

Major intersections

This table lists the exits on Route 97C from east to west.[10] All exits are unnumbered.

Regional DistrictLocationkm[11]miDestinationsNotes
Osoyoos
Drought Hill interchange; eastern terminus
​6.143.82Trepanier RoadInterchange; westbound exit, eastbound entrance
22.6814.09Brenda Mine RoadInterchange
↑ / ↓​33.0220.52Pennask Summit – el. 1,728 m (5,669 ft)
Thompson-Nicola
​42.9226.67Sunset Main RoadInterchange
Okanagan-Similkameen
​54.7634.03Elkhart RoadInterchange
Thompson-Nicola
​67.4041.88Loon Lake RoadInterchange; rest area (opened 2018)[12]
82.3351.16Freeway ends
Hwy 5A south – PrincetonAt-grade; east end of Hwy 5A concurrency
Vancouver
Coldwater interchange (Hwy 5 exit 286)
West end of Hwy 5A concurrency; east end of Hwy 8 concurrency
110.0268.36 To Hwy 5A north / Voght StreetFormer west end of Hwy 5A concurrency
Spences Bridge
Hwy 97C branches north; west end of Hwy 8 concurrency
Kamloops
Hwy 97C branches west
Ashcroft214.14133.06Ashcroft Bridge across Thompson River
214.31133.17Cornwall Road (
Spences Bridge
Hwy 97C branches north
​220.30136.89
Vancouver
Hwy 97C branches north; south end of Hwy 1 concurrency
Lillooet, Prince George
Northern terminus
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

  1. ^ https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/driving-and-transportation/reports-and-reference/reports-and-studies/planning-strategy-economy/speed-review/rural_hwy_safety_speed_review_post-implementation_update.pdf
  2. ^ https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/speed-limit-bc-highways-reduced-1.4893914
  3. Newspapers.com
    .
  4. ^ 1688 to 1923: Geloso, Vincent, A Price Index for Canada, 1688 to 1850 (December 6, 2016). Afterwards, Canadian inflation numbers based on Statistics Canada tables 18-10-0005-01 (formerly CANSIM 326-0021) "Consumer Price Index, annual average, not seasonally adjusted". Statistics Canada. Retrieved April 17, 2021. and table 18-10-0004-13 "Consumer Price Index by product group, monthly, percentage change, not seasonally adjusted, Canada, provinces, Whitehorse, Yellowknife and Iqaluit". Statistics Canada. Retrieved May 8, 2024.
  5. ^ B.C. Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure. "Frontier to Freeway - A Short Illustrated History of Roads in British Columbia" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on June 11, 2011. Retrieved August 18, 2010.
  6. ISSN 1180-5315
    . |url=https://portal.issn.org/resource/ISSN/1180-5315#
  7. ^ McNeil, Holly (October 1990). "Coquihalla Commemorative Magazine" (PDF). Okanagan Life.
  8. ^ Ministry of Transportation (July 24, 2007). "Four-lane project completes Coquihalla Highway system". Victoria. Retrieved February 18, 2022.
  9. ^ "The Story of the Highway 97 Alphabet". TranBC | Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure. Government of British Columbia. August 2018. Retrieved November 24, 2018.
  10. ^ British Columbia Road Atlas (2007 ed.). Oshawa, ON: MapArt Publishing Corp. pp. 57, 58, 69, 70.
  11. ^ Landmark Kilometre Inventory (PDF). British Columbia Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure (Report). Cypher Consulting. July 2016. pp. 172–173, 202–203, 504–512. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 11, 2017. Retrieved March 23, 2017.
  12. ^ Province of British Columbia: Loon Lake Rest Area, Press Release, February 7, 2018. Accessed September 12, 2018.

External links

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