Crash at Stickle Road

Photo: Darren Handschuh

Emergency crews were called to Stickle Road at the north end of Vernon Thursday following a motor vehicle incident.

Emergency crews were called to Stickle Road at the north end of Vernon Thursday afternoon following a motor vehicle incident.

The accident happened in a 60 km/h construction zone. There is no word on the cause of the crash or if there were any injuries, but the accident is believed to be minor.

The notorious intersection has seen many accidents over the years and much debate went into how to fix the hazardous intersection with many people wanting a stop light, but the idea was rejected by the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure.

The difficulty was when drivers were making a left-hand turn from Stickle Road onto Highway 97 they had to negotiate several lanes of highway-speed traffic.

Following numerous open houses on the intersection that presented several options to make it safer, the Province decided on extending 20th Street to the Anderson Subdivision, thus eliminating the need to turn left to get back into the city.

Originally, the project was slated to cost $9.5 million, but that price ballooned to $15 million.

Of the $15 million price tag, $13.5 million will cover the cost of the main work, with an additional $1.5 million from the rehabilitation program required to resurface the exiting four lanes through the intersection.

The road extension has yet to open so vehicles must still navigate the left-hand turn back into Vernon.