This new $9 million Kelowna road not expected to be used much

When Kelowna’s Clement Avenue was expanded to join Gordon Drive to Spall Road in 2007 it quickly became a major and very busy thoroughfare.

That four-lane, 2.7-km-stretch of road cost $8.5 million to extend.

Early in December, the city will open its latest major road project, the two-lane, 2.3 km, $9.3 million South Perimeter Road.

But it won’t fill up like Clement Avenue, at least not for a very long time.

“On opening day, during the morning peak, some drivers will decide to reroute via the South Perimeter Road but, over the rest of the day, it’s likely to remain relatively light use,” Gordon Foy, the city’s manager of transportation engineering, told iNFOnews.ca.

READ MORE: South Perimeter Road can't come soon enough to relieve Mission traffic

One obvious reason for that is its location near the south end of the city where single-family homes are the norm.

Clement Avenue, by contrast, connects the downtown to the Orchard Park areas. Population densities are higher and there’s lots of businesses to connect to.

That doesn’t mean the South Perimeter Road isn’t an important connection.

“That’s going to moderate the amount of congestion on Gordon (Drive) and, most importantly, it’s going to limit the ability of congestion to grow on Gordon,” Foy said. “Congestion will get to a certain level on Gordon then people will reroute to South Perimeter over time.”

Gordon Drive is one the major north-south connectors through the city, running from the base of Knox Mountain almost to the city’s southern boundary.

The new road will turn off Gordon Drive near Frost Road, cross Bellevue Creek and hit Stewart Road West. Traffic will flow down Bedford Road to Casorso then Benvoulin roads. The route will be best suited to drivers heading to the Orchard Park area, Rutland or points north.

Some of the roads along the new corridor have been upgraded over the past few years and more improvements will come over time, Foy said.

While the South Perimeter Road has been in the city's plans since the mid 1990s, its construction date was pushed up at the urging of the developers of the Ponds housing project in the Kettle Valley area of the city.

The road will connect Crawford Estates to the Ponds and the new Canyon Falls Middle School.

The entire cost is being paid through development cost charges so there’s no tax dollars going into the project.

The opening date has not yet been set as the city is going through final inspections.

“We have substantial completion with inspection scheduled for the end of the month,” Johannes Saufferer, the city’s real estate services manager said. “The city is inspecting the works and ensuring they meet our standards before we take them over.”

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