Editor’s Note: This story has been corrected to clarify that, under the latest construction schedule, the road closure is expected to last nine to 13 weeks, not nine to 12 weeks as a previous version of this article stated.
Vernon city council has decided to get a controversial road project completed as soon as possible.
The $2.8 million project involves the creation of a multi-use path along a stretch of Kalalmalka Lake Road. The goal is to connect Vernon’s downtown core with the new rail trail.
Council voted Monday to extend work hours for the contractor to 14 hours per day over six days a week.
It means Kal Lake Road will be closed between Browne Road and the Alpine Centre at the Coldstream border for nine to 13 weeks, instead of 12 to 16 weeks as originally proposed.
Area businesses have expressed concerns that a road closure of any length will be bad for business. Some of them were hoping for single alternating traffic during the construction period but Vernon’s Mayor says that option could have taken six months to get the project done.
“There are the outspoken ones who don’t want the road closed, I can see that,” Vernon Mayor Akbal Mund said. “But the idea is we are going to have to do the project so lets try and do it in the least amount of time as possible.”
The road construction project is set to begin in April.
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