British Columbia Highway 97C

Highway 97C is an east-west highway, forming part of an important link between the Lower Mainland and 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.

Highway 97C
Okanagan Connector Coquihalla Connector
Highway 97C highlighted in red.
Route information
Length	224 km (139 mi)
Existed	1990–present
Major junctions
East end	Hwy 97 north of Peachland
	Hwy 5A near Aspen Grove Hwy 5 / Hwy 8 in Merritt Hwy 97D near Logan Lake Hwy 1 (TCH) near Ashcroft
North end	Hwy 1 (TCH) / Hwy 97 in Cache Creek
Location
Districts	Peachland, Logan Lake
Major cities	Merritt
Villages	Ashcroft, Cache Creek
Highway system
British Columbia provincial highways ← Hwy 97B → Hwy 97D

Route description

Highway 97C begins near Peachland, at a trumpet interchange on Highway 97 known as Drought Hill. The section of Highway 97C east of Merritt is 4 to 6 lanes expressway with a speed limit of 100 km/h (60 mph) and the section east of Aspen Grove is freeway with a speed limit of 110 km/h (70 mph). The road was formerly 120 km/h (75 mph). Expressway and freeway sections have very few exits along its route. Its highest altitude is the Pennask Summit, 1,728 m (5,669 ft) above sea level. Highway 97C travels on this freeway 82 km (51 mi) northwest to 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 Lower Nicola, where Highway 8 continues west to Spences Bridge and Highway 97C diverges north. Highway 97C goes north for 42 km (26 mi) to Logan Lake, then northwest for 57 km (35 mi) to Ashcroft on the Canadian National Railway. Highway 97C then travels 6 km (4 mi) west from Ashcroft to where it converges with Highway 1, which takes Highway 97C north for its final 5 km (3 mi) to its end at Highway 97 in Cache Creek.

History

Okanagan Lake from Highway 97C near Trepanier.

Highway 97C is a relatively new route, commissioned on October 1, 1990, which is 224 km (139 mi) in total length, and was constructed as the third phase of the Coquihalla Highway Project. Construction was completed in 1990, with the cost totalling to $225 million in 1987 dollars ($373 million inflation adjusted 2009 dollars).[1] 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;[2] 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 2-lane road in each direction, the last segment required to enable 2 lanes in each direction when traveling between Vancouver and Kelowna.

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.[3]

Major intersections

This table lists the exits on Route 97C from east to west.[4] All exits are unnumbered.

Regional District	Location	km[5]	mi	Destinations	Notes
Central Okanagan	Peachland	0.00	0.00	Hwy 97 (Okanagan Highway) – Vernon, Kelowna, Penticton, Osoyoos	Drought Hill interchange; eastern terminus
	​	6.14	3.82	Trepanier Road	Interchange; westbound exit, eastbound entrance
		22.68	14.09	Brenda Mine Road	Interchange
↑ / ↓	​	33.02	20.52	Pennask Summit – el. 1,728 m (5,669 ft)
Thompson-Nicola	​	42.92	26.67	Sunset Main Road	Interchange
Okanagan-Similkameen	​	54.76	34.03	Elkhart Road	Interchange
Thompson-Nicola	​	67.40	41.88	Loon Lake Road	Interchange; rest area (opened 2018)[6]
		82.33	51.16	Freeway ends
				Hwy 5A south – Princeton	At-grade; east end of Hwy 5A concurrency
	Merritt	105.87	65.78	Hwy 5 (Coquihalla Highway) – Kamloops, Vancouver	Coldwater interchange (Hwy 5 exit 286) West end of Hwy 5A concurrency; east end of Hwy 8 concurrency
		110.02	68.36	Voght Street to Hwy 5A north	Former west end of Hwy 5A concurrency
	Lower Nicola	114.88	71.38	Hwy 8 west (Nicola Highway) – Spences Bridge	Hwy 97C branches north; west end of Hwy 8 concurrency
	Logan Lake	156.88	97.48	Hwy 97D east – Logan Lake, Kamloops	Hwy 97C branches west
	Ashcroft	214.14	133.06	Ashcroft Bridge across Thompson River
		214.31	133.17	Cornwall Road (Hwy 926:0901 south) to Hwy 1 – Spences Bridge	Hwy 97C branches north; Hwy 926:0901 is unsigned
	​	220.30	136.89	Hwy 1 (TCH) west – Hope, Vancouver	Hwy 97C branches north; south end of Hwy 1 concurrency
	Cache Creek	224.48	139.49	Hwy 1 (TCH) east / Hwy 97 south – Kamloops Hwy 97 north (Cariboo Highway) to Hwy 99 – Lillooet, Prince George	Northern terminus
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Incomplete access

References

1. 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 2011-06-11. Retrieved 2010-08-18.
2. McNeil, Holly (October 1990). "Coquihalla Commemorative Magazine" (PDF). Okanagan Life.
3. "The Story of the Highway 97 Alphabet". TranBC | Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure. Government of British Columbia. August 2018. Retrieved November 24, 2018.
4. British Columbia Road Atlas (2007 ed.). Oshawa, ON: MapArt Publishing Corp. pp. 57, 58, 69, 70.
5. 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 2017-03-11. Retrieved 2017-03-23.
6. Province of British Columbia: Loon Lake Rest Area, Press Release, February 7, 2018. Accessed September 12, 2018.

External links

• Graph detailing the distance and altitude of the highway between Highway 5A and Highway 97 (via Pennask Summit)
• Official Numbered Routes in British Columbia