West Kelowna

Construction-weary motorists will be pleased to find out another milestone has been completed on the Westside Road Interchange project.

Photo: Grant Scott

Fresh lines were painted on Highway 97 near Westside Rd. as completion of the Nancee Way overpass draws near.

Since work began on the building of the William R. Bennett bridge in 2005, commuters travelling between Kelowna and the Westside have driven through some type of construction zone on a continual basis for over seven years..

Now the end is almost in the rear view mirror.

Motorists were greeted by freshly painted lines on the stretch of highway near the new Westside Road overpass, signaling that the Nancee Way overpass is almost complete.

"We should be moving the traffic back on to its final and pre-existing alignment on Highway 97 by the middle of November," says project spokesperson Evelyn Lube.

"We've got the workers continuing to build the overpass...crews are working six days a week."

Lube added they expect the entire project will be complete by the end of December.

"The key parts are the opening of the (Nancee Way) overpass, so you'll be able to travel underneath there, and the re-alignment of Highway 97, so those will be completed by the middle of November."

The completion of the Nancee Way overpass will also affect the merge lane coming onto the highway off of Westside Road.

"You'll see a longer on-ramp onto Highway 97. And you'll no longer see the 'wow' in the road any more, it'll be nice and straight, like it was before," says Lube.

However, the 60 Km/h speed limit will remain in effect for the remainder of the year.

"There will still be workers in close proximity to the highway on both sides, so that will stay in place until the project is completed at the end of December."