A free water taxi service began Saturday morning to transport people affected by the closure of B.C.'s highway 97 between Penticton and Kelowna.
The provincial government has hired two 75-person water taxis to every hour from 5 a.m. until 9 p.m. seven days a week until the roadway is reopened.
B.C. Transit buses will also be used to shuttle passengers to and from the water taxis.
"We know that a lot of people have been inconvenienced, and we are very pleased to team up with BC Transit to deliver this service," said provincial Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon in a press release.
"The ministry is doing everything it can to reopen the highway as quickly as possible, but we will only reopen when it's safe to do so."
Highway 97 just north of Summerland B.C. was closed Oct. 24 after workers found a large fissure on a slope above the highway.
Blasting Underway
Crews are in the process of blasting the hillside to clear the area of the estimated 300,000 cubic metres of unstable material moving on the rock face.
B.C.'s chief geo-technical engineer has said it could be a month before the section of highway is reopened.
Traffic is being routed via highways 97C, 5A, 3 and 3A, and Okanagan Falls Forest Service Road to Highway 33 is now available.
Additional Information
Detailed schedules and maps of transit stops are available online at Drive BC by following the link to the Highway 97 Closure Information page. There is also a 24 hour information line, at 250-712-3678.
