Misplaced Pages

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28-439: The BC Power Commission built the first generating station in 1947, it included above ground wood stave penstocks and six turbine-generator units for a total capacity of 126 MW. It was named after John Hart , Premier of BC 1941–1947. By 1979 BC Hydro was concerned about the safety of dams built before 1961. A series of earthquakes since then had shown the susceptibility of some dams to liquefaction. A review begun in 1984 discovered

56-469: A two-lane highway to a freeway with as many as six lanes. Some remote sections also remain unpaved and gravelled . The route takes its number from U.S. Route 97 , with which it connects at the international border. The highway was initially designated '97' in 1953. The busiest section of Highway 97 is in West Kelowna, carrying almost 70,000 vehicles per day. Some sections in the northern regions of

84-593: Is 441 km (274 mi) in length and named for the Cariboo region, through which it travels. Much of its length as far as Quesnel follows approximately the route of the original Cariboo Wagon Road , which was also known as the Queen's Highway. The Cariboo Wagon Road's lower stretches between Yale and Cache Creek were severed in many places by the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway in

112-831: Is a major highway in the Canadian province of British Columbia . It is the longest continuously numbered route in the province, running 2,081 km (1,293 mi) and is the only route that runs the entire north–south length of British Columbia, connecting the Canada–United States border near Osoyoos in the south to the British Columbia– Yukon boundary in the north at Watson Lake, Yukon . The highway connects several major cities in BC Interior , including Kelowna , Kamloops , Prince George , and Dawson Creek . Within and near these cities, Highway 97 varies from

140-564: Is by far the busiest. Congestion is frequent - particularly near the William Bennett Bridge, and Southbound towards West Kelowna. Four kilometres (2 1 ⁄ 2  mi) north of the Highway 33 junction, Highway 97 leaves the urbanized area of Kelowna (the municipal boundary is actually a further 12 km, 7 mi, north). For the next 43 km (27 mi), the route travels well east of Okanagan Lake, passing through

168-635: The 1941 election when Pattullo's Liberals failed to win a majority. Unlike Pattullo, Hart was willing to form a coalition government with the Conservative Party . This allowed the Liberal-Conservative coalition to govern with a majority in order to block the socialist Cooperative Commonwealth Federation from forming the government. From 1941 to 1945, Hart governed at a time of wartime scarcity, when all major government projects were postponed. Hart's coalition government

196-667: The British Columbia Railway begins to roughly parallel Highway 97, as well as through the community of 70 Mile House before reaching a junction at 93 Mile House with Highway 24 (the Interlakes Highway). The roughly 30 km (19 mi) section of highway between 70 Mile House and Highway 24 has been re-routed to a new expressway with a speed limit of 110km/h. Over the 100 km (62 mi) of road north of Highway 24, Highway 97 travels through 100 Mile House and 150 Mile House before reaching

224-576: The Crowsnest Highway ( Highway 3 ) at Osoyoos. The highway travels north for 47 km (29 mi), passing through the Testalinden Creek Landslide and the communities of Oliver and Okanagan Falls . From Okanagan Falls, Highway 97 runs near the western shore of Skaha Lake before arriving at the locality of Kaleden , where Highway 3A diverges west. 13 km (8 mi) north of Kaleden, Highway 97 arrives at

252-596: The Fraser Canyon to Cache Creek and Prince George. Constructed in 1924-25, the new gravel toll highway opened in 1926, giving road access to canyon communities cut off since the destruction of parts of the Cariboo Road by construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway in the 1880s. The Cariboo Highway designation for the Fraser Canyon portion of the route was supplanted with the completion and naming of

280-703: The 1880s. That section, now part of the Trans-Canada, was rebuilt in the 1920s, when the name Cariboo Highway was first applied to the route, a designation which ran from Yale to Prince George, British Columbia (where portions of the route survive as the Old Cariboo Highway ). Today the Cariboo Highway designation begins at Cache Creek, veering north for 11 km (7 mi) to its junction with Highway 99 . North of Highway 99, Highway 97 travels 92 km (57 mi) through Clinton , where

308-540: The 97C junction, Highway 97 begins to cross Okanagan Lake via the William R. Bennett Bridge . The highway enters the city of Kelowna upon landfall on the east shore of the lake. 6 km (4 mi) east into the city centre, the highway reaches its junction with Highway 33 . As the Okanagan is a very popular travel destination and also has the highest population in inland B.C. (about 300,000), this section of highway 97

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336-615: The Pine Pass, the highway generally follows the Pine River northeast to its intersection with Highway 29 at the town of Chetwynd . After a trek of another 97 km (60 mi) east, the Hart Highway terminates at Dawson Creek . This northernmost section of Highway 97 is 965 km (600 mi) long, and travels north through largely unpopulated wilderness, intersecting the communities of Fort St. John and Fort Nelson ,

364-760: The Trans-Canada Highway at Monte Creek , and is known as the Vernon-Monte Creek Highway . The highway follows Highway 1 for 105 km (65 mi) west to Cache Creek . As it travels westward, Highways 1 and 97 parallel the Thompson River , passing through the city of Kamloops , where the route shares a 12 km (7 mi) wrong-way concurrency with Highway 5 (signed as 97 North and 5 South and vice versa) and intersects Highway 5A . The Cariboo Highway section of Highway 97, between Cache Creek and Prince George ,

392-664: The Trans-Canada Highway c.-1962. Portions of the old highway survive as local streets, some carrying the name Old Cariboo Highway (as in Prince George). This 405 km-long (252 mi) stretch of Highway 97, named for former British Columbia Premier John Hart , begins at the John Hart Bridge crossing the Nechako River in Prince George, travelling for 152 km (94 mi) north through

420-487: The city of Penticton . North of Penticton, Highway 97 follows the western shore of Okanagan Lake for 45 km (28 mi), through the communities of Summerland and Peachland , before reaching its junction with Highway 97C just south of Westbank . From there, Highway 97 passes through West Kelowna and reserve lands belonging to the Westbank First Nation until, 15 km (9 mi) northeast of

448-601: The city of Williams Lake and a junction with Highway 20 , which runs west across the Chilcotin District to Bella Coola on the Central Coast . Over the next 120 km (75 mi) continuing generally northward, the highway passes through McLeese Lake and Marguerite . En route, Highway 97 follows the east bank of the Fraser River to the city of Quesnel , and a junction with Highway 26 . Over

476-412: The community of Winfield . Prior to 2013, the highway ran alongside the west shore of Wood Lake to Oyama . A new 9 km (6 mi) section of four-lane highway was constructed and opened to traffic at that time, which bypasses Oyama entirely to the north. The original section of the highway skirting the western shore of Wood Lake is now known as Pelmewash Parkway . Both Oyama and Winfield lie within

504-425: The dam was built on loose, saturate sands and silts. The dam was reinforced using injected grout while under full pool. Due to seismic risks, a 68-year-old facility and lower than optimal power generation, in 2014 contracts were awarded to SNC-Lavalin to design and build a generating station and two new 2 km long, six meter penstocks. The new penstocks and powerhouse are located underground. The project included

532-518: The decommissioning of the old facility in conjunction with the construction and commissioning of the new facility. The 1.1 billion dollar project was completed in 2018. The new powerhouse as a slightly larger capacity at 132.2 megawatts. This article about a location on the Coast of British Columbia , Canada is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . John Hart (Canadian politician) John Hart (March 31, 1879 – April 7, 1957 )

560-438: The municipality of Lake Country . Highway 97 then passes along the west shore of Kalamalka Lake before entering the city of Vernon and a junction with Highway 6 just south of the city centre. The highway then travels north for 10 km (6 mi) to a junction with Highway 97A near Swan Lake . Highway 97 continues northwest from Highway 97A for 81 km (50 mi), past the town of Falkland , before it merges onto

588-560: The next 115 km (71 mi) north of Quesnel, after passing through the hamlets of Strathnaver , Hixon , Stoner and Red Rock , Highway 97 meets its junction with Highway 16 at Prince George . North of here, the highway veers away from the Fraser River, and the British Columbia Railway veers northwestward from it. The term Cariboo Highway originally applied to the reconstructed route from Hope through

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616-504: The province have as few as 250 vehicles per day. The Okanagan Highway is a 189 km (117 mi) section of Highway 97 between the international border and the junction of Highway 97A north of Vernon . It is named for the Okanagan region of British Columbia, through which it largely passes. It begins in the south at the international border crossing north of Oroville , and travels 4 km (2.5 mi) north to its junction with

644-438: The provincial legislature as a Liberal member from Victoria City . He served as minister of finance from 1917 to 1924, and from 1933 to 1946. Hart retired from politics to attend to his business from 1924 to 1933. At various times, he also served as Minister of Industries (1922 to 1924 and 1933 to 1937), Minister of Lands (1944), Minister of Public Works (1942) and Minister of Railways (1942). Hart became premier following

672-684: The re-launch of the Bridge River Power Project , which was the first major hydroelectric development in British Columbia. He established the BC Power Commission, a forerunner of BC Hydro , to provide power to smaller communities that were not serviced by private utilities. In December 1947, he retired as both finance minister and premier. Hart was named speaker for the assembly in 1948. He did not seek reelection in 1949 and returned to business. Hart

700-664: The small hamlet of Summit Lake , which is situated at the Continental Divide , as well as through Crooked River Provincial Park , Bear Lake and McLeod Lake , to its intersection with Highway 39 . It then journeys northeast another 150 km (93 mi) over the crest of the Rocky Mountains via the Pine Pass , at which point the time zone changes from Pacific Time to Mountain Time . After descending from

728-1078: Was one of the few BC premiers who left office neither defeated nor under a cloud. He died in Victoria in 1957, aged 78 years, having led a distinguished life of public service. He is interred in the Royal Oak Burial Park in Saanich. The 405 km John Hart Highway between Prince George and Dawson Creek is named for him, as is the Hart Highlands neighbourhood of Prince George and the John Hart Dam (Hydroelectric) in Campbell River . British Columbia Highway 97 (2) Vernon-Monte Creek Highway between Vernon and Monte Creek (3) Cariboo Highway between Cache Creek and Prince George (4) John Hart Highway between Prince George and Dawson Creek Highway 97

756-464: Was re-elected in the 1945 election by a decisive margin. In that contest, Liberals and Conservatives ran under the same banner for the first time in BC history. After 1945, Hart undertook an ambitious program of rural electrification , hydroelectric and highway construction. Hart's most significant projects were the construction of Highway 97 to northern British Columbia (which is named in his honour) and

784-457: Was the 23rd premier of British Columbia , Canada, from December 9, 1941, to December 29, 1947. John Hart was born in Mohill , County Leitrim, Ireland, the son of an Irish farmer who was also named John Hart. He came to Victoria in 1898. Hart worked in the finance industry and founded his own firm in 1909. In 1908, he married Harriet McKay. He entered politics in the 1916 election , elected to

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