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

Okanagan Valley The Okanagan ( ), also known as the Okanagan Valley and sometimes as the Okanagan Country, is a region in the Canadian province of British Columbia defined by the basin of Okanagan Lake and the Canadian portion of the Okanagan River. It is p ...

south of Kelowna, which is the third largest metropolitan area in the province. It bisects the

Coquihalla Highway Coquihalla may refer to: *British Columbia Highway 5, also known as Coquihalla highway * Coquihalla River * Coquihalla Pass * Okanagan—Coquihalla, a federal electoral district in British Columbia * Coquihalla Canyon Provincial Park *Coquihalla Ri ...

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.

Route description

Highway 97C begins near

Peachland Peachland is a district municipality in the Okanagan Valley on the west side of Okanagan Lake in British Columbia, Canada. It was founded in 1899 by John Moore Robinson, although the region had long been home to the Okanagan people. Peachland ...

, at a trumpet interchange on

Highway 97 Route 97, or Highway 97, may refer to: Australia - Olympic Dam Highway, South Australia Canada * British Columbia Highway 97 ** British Columbia Highway 97A ** British Columbia Highway 97B ** British Columbia Highway 97C ** British Columb ...

known as ''Drought Hill''. The section of Highway 97C east of Merritt is four- to six-lane expressway with a speed limit of and the section east of Aspen Grove is freeway with a speed limit of . The road was formerly a expressway and freeway sections have very few exits along its route. Its highest altitude is the Pennask Summit, above sea level. Highway 97C travels on this freeway northwest to

Aspen Grove Aspen Grove is a settlement in British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscape ...

, where it converges with Highway 5A. This stretch is a four-lane rural arterial highway. Highways 97C and 5A share the long route between Aspen Grove and the

at Meritt, where Highway 5A continues northeast and Highway 8 begins. Highways 97C and 8 travel along Nicola Avenue through Merritt and share a concurrency to

Lower Nicola Lower Nicola is a rural community in the Nicola Country region of the Southern Interior of British Columbia. It is located at the confluence of Guichon Creek and the Nicola River The Nicola River , originally French Rivière de Nicholas or Rivi� ...

, where Highway 8 continues west to

Spences Bridge Spences Bridge is a community in the Canadian province of British Columbia, situated north east of Lytton and south of Ashcroft. At Spences Bridge the Trans-Canada Highway crosses the Thompson River. In 1892, Spences Bridge's population inc ...

and Highway 97C diverges north. Highway 97C goes north for 42 km (26 mi) to

Logan Lake Logan Lake is a district municipality in the Southern Interior of British Columbia, Canada. History It was founded in the 1960s and 1970s to support copper, molybdenum and other mineral mining operations located south of the town. The Villag ...

, then northwest for 57 km (35 mi) to

Ashcroft Ashcroft may refer to: Places * Ashcroft, British Columbia, a village in Canada **Ashcroft House in Bagpath, Gloucestershire, England—eponym of the Canadian village * Ashcroft, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney, Australia * Ashcroft, Colorado, ...

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

Highway 97C was opened to traffic on October 1, 1990, and was constructed as the third phase of the Coquihalla Highway Project. It cost $225 million to construct (equivalent to $ million in dollars). Highway 97C was originally intended to have a freeway connection with the Coquihalla Highway approximately south of Merritt, near exit 256; 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 two-lane road in each direction, the last segment required to enable two lanes in each direction when travelling between Vancouver and Kelowna. The upgrade was completed on July 24. When it was constructed, initial proposals had it designated as Highway 8; however, communities on the route preferred it designated as an

auxiliary route In road transportation in the United States, a special route is a road in a numbered highway system that diverts a specific segment of related traffic away from another road. They are featured in many highway systems; most are found in the In ...

of Highway 97, hence its Highway 97C designation.

Major intersections

This table lists the exits on Route 97C from ''east to west''.''British Columbia Road Atlas'' (2007 ed.). Oshawa, ON: MapArt Publishing Corp. pp. 57, 58, 69, 70.

References

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
{{BCHighways 097C Freeways in British Columbia 97C Nicola Country Highways in the Okanagan Transport in Kelowna