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Letter: Go back to drawing board on Highway 1/Balmoral Road intersection

Open letter to the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, on behalf of users of Balmoral Road,
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Open letter to the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, on behalf of users of Balmoral Road,

This is in response to your recent meeting with the residents of Shuswap Lake Estates and surrounding areas regarding the highway improvements at the intersection of Highway 1 and Balmoral Road.

First, other provinces with far less population than B.C. completed their four-laning of Highway 1 more than 50 years ago. It is therefore long overdue for B.C. to complete its portion of Highway 1. Your proposal to use the existing under-designed single lanes as well as the under-designed single-lane underpass where two lanes are required is completely unacceptable.

Please destroy the drawings you propose for the long overdue highway upgrading as these are completely unacceptable. The Balmoral Road is South Shuswap’s busiest road and it will only get busier with the growing number of people settling to he east along the south side of Shuswap Lake.

Read more: Province proposes improvements for Balmoral Road/Highway 1 intersection

Read more: Air ambulance called to Highway 1 collision west of Salmon Arm

Read more: Open house to reveal proposed changes to Balmoral intersection on Trans-Canada Highway

The population for about 30 kilometres east from Highway 1 at Balmoral is growing every year, and the only way in and out for them is by Balmoral. Check your traffic counts over the past several years and you will find Balmoral is one of the busiest country roads around. We need the proper highway and property connections to and from the highway.

Why are you fiddling around with under-constructed side roads and single-lane underpasses with interest rates today lower than they have been for at least 50 years? Why cut corners?

How about showing the people above and below you that you have learned something since working for highways. Throw away those proposals you attempted recently to get by with, with the local people. Let’s go properly with the four-laning and with all the correct under and over passes connecting to and from the highway.

Jack Barker,

Shuswap Lake Estates


@SalmonArm
newsroom@saobserver.net

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