A local citizens committee says a highway overpass and underpass at Toop Road accessed by roundabouts on each side, could be the best solution for Highway 97 North upgrades in Williams Lake.
“It solves every potential traffic situation there is,” committee spokesperson John Moon said Thursday.
The committee has been trying to present the concept (shown above) to city council since Dec. 19 so when council voted unanimously last Tuesday to pursue Option One — moving the intersection with lights from Carson north to Toop — the committee mobilized its efforts.
“We’ve made a request to present it to the committee of the whole Tuesday, but haven’t heard back,” Moon said.
The committee’s concept design has been viewed by a traffic engineer in Vancouver who happens to be the same engineer who investigated a fatality at Highway 97 and Toop Road about seven years ago and wrote a report for ICBC, the Ministry of Transportation and the city, Moon said.
“When he saw the concept he said, ‘wow.’ He is very familiar with this intersection and the one at Carson.”
Moon said presently there are two proposed overpasses for highway upgrades at Sugar Cane and Highway 97.
“If they can do two overpasses five miles south I’m sure they can do an underpass and overpass up here.”
In addition, an overpass/underpass configuration would leave the access points to the local streets and the city undisturbed, he said.