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The contract that will see a major widening of Highway 1 through the Shuswap has gone to tender.
On Tuesday, the provincial government said the $243 million project will see the widening of the two-lane highway to four lanes through Tappen, which is just north of Salmon Arm.
Work on the 4.3 kilometre stretch of highway between Ford Road and Tappen Valley Road will also see the replacement of the aging Tappen overpass and the construction of frontage roads.
The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure says the project will enhance access to the Little Shuswap Lake community while improving safety access on and off the Trans-Canada Highway.
The project will also see the construction of a new eastbound commercial pullout for truck drivers. As the highway is changed to four lanes, crews will add wider shoulders and frontage roads to provide safer spaces for cyclists and pedestrians to travel.
Funding for the project was announced in July 2021 and is part of a series of planned improvements to the Trans-Canada Highway between Kamloops and the Alberta border.
The provincial government contributed $161 million and the federal government committed about $82 million to this section of the project.
It is anticipated the contract will be awarded in early summer 2023 and is estimated to be complete in 2026.