Remember this story and these comments? One report from a recent RDOS meeting indicates that the Board wants this road fixed. More on this later – but you might find the comments below interesting.
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How mad are you? Will you write a comment with your name on it? I will forward all comments from Oliverites and others upset with Government/Argo/Contractors who have left a mess on the Fairview/White Lake Road. What was once a nice back road used by residents, travellers, cyclists, walker etc. has been reduced to loose gravel.
There is no public announcements about what or who is doing what in the area. I have received a number of complaints but it needs to be more of an issue. Time will tell.
To fix the mess – the whole road should be paved like side-roads closer to the highway. Fairview/White Lake is an upper highway – an alternative route. It should be paved as soon as possible.
Bruce Brownstein
Submitted on 2011/10/25
I cannot believe what a mess has been made of the road! I must drive this road to access my home and business and I am just appalled that this was allowed to be done without any consultation. The road is now very dangerous for motorcyclists and even worse for cyclists. What really pisses me off is that other roads in the area were paved beautifully while it was thought by some civil servant that this inferior, primitive seal-coating was going to be just fine for all those ‘country folk’. I am writing to every public official to register a complaint and to encourage that the road be paved properly. Remember this at the next election.
Tami
Amen to all the comments have read. I enjoyed driving this thru the beautiful country on this road. Trips to Vancouver always started driving it to Twin Lakes – no more. I as well used it to commute to Penticton during the recent road construction on Hwy 97 north, but that lasted only 1 day after I was met with the gravel. Whitelake road is one that my family when they come home to visit love to go on for an Oliver country drive, I am sure they won’t want to now as it will ding the paint on their cars or put a chip in the windshield. We gone back in time with this mess; it needs to be black topped ASAP.
lfjoliver
I drove this the other day – and thought – WOW – they must be prepping for some major roadwork, or raising the surface etc. FINALLY!!!!
Now…..after reading this – you’re telling me it’s PERMANENT???!!! WHAT?? What a mess!
Stefan Cieslik
Thanks for publishing more news about the back road from Fairview to Willowbrook that has been ruined by the loose-gravel topping errors.
I used to love cycling that beautiful, quiet back-road three times a week from May until the end of August.
Now there is no possibility of me riding that road between Oliver’s Fairview and the Whitelake Observatory because it is now bumpy, slippery, dusty, dirty and dangerous. Even those people who think they are safe in their cars will have to watch out for flying debris, gravel/rock missiles and paint-chip-guarantees.
What were the Highways people thinking? They spent the summer fixing up potholes and then proceeded to turn everything upside down by doing the so-called seal-coating which turned the paved road into a gravel-bed disaster waiting to happen.
We can tell by the OLN “Responses to Loose gravel slows down back road travel” that we are not alone when it comes to thinking that something has to be done about this mistake. Phone-calls, letters and e-mails to our MLA John Slater, the Minister of Highways, etc. will definitely draw some attention to this issue.
Linda SB
Fairview-Whitelake Rd has been ruined. There is way too much gravel providing a very unstable surface. After only a few days most of the gravel has been pushed to the sides from traffic. The dust and loose gravel makes for a most unpleasant drive. It is an accident waiting to happen.
What about plowing? Winter is around the corner and we get a lot of snow up here – all of the gravel will end up plowed off to the side of the road and we’ll be right back where we started.
It is time to pave Fairview-Whitelake Road. It is a major secondary highway, well travelled by locals and tourists alike. This band-aid solution has already run its course.
Sam
Pulled my travel trailer from Secrest to Green Lake this afternoon, the gravel is finally “sinking in” in places, with the loose stuff on the edges.
SusyQ
I’m in! What a mess up there! Use the road as a back way to Penticton with the kids because it is so pretty up there and kids enjoy the scenery etc.
No more my friend! Just an accident waiting to happen I think.
Why on earth would they take the cheap way out on this after spending how much to 4 lane a 1 mile stretch of the Oliver Osoyoos highway is beyond me.
Tell me who to write to or call and I’ll bitch their ear off
Cameron
What a mess, a danger to cars, drivers and wildlife, and in this day and age should not be used as a means of resurfacing a much used road by locals and tourists. I guess Argo or the powers to be must have to much book learning and not enough STREET SMARTS, no pun intended, to have done the right and proper thing by lifting the pavement and putting it back down mixed with some fresh pavement. Thus making the road a safer place to travel and would have been done in a much quicker timeframe. But I guess they could have ripped up the pavement and left a gravel road, using the recycled pavement on roads 9 or 180. But wait Whitelake Road is a secondary hiway, is this how the government intends to pay for those Olympics they hid the true costs on.
Brad & Caroline Webb- Green Lake Rd.
As rural residents living on Green Lake road we too are horrified by the mess that the highways contractor has left Fairview-White lake road. There is no point contacting Argo Road Maintenance (their management have demonstrated on numerous occasions that they are not responsive to legitimate concerns), you must voice your concerns directly to BC Highways and your local Provincial MLA and Federal MP.
Having lived in isolated postings in the Yukon Territory/Northern BC we have experience with chip sealing aka seal coating. This substandard mess is not anything like we have seen before. Appears to be far too little oil sealant in the substrate and too much gravel on top. Moreover, none of the excess gravel has been swept off the road.
There was nothing wrong with White lake Rd as it was; A few pot holes here and there but otherwise a good road. Far superior to Green Lake Rd which is in a far worse state of decay. The mess created here puts this important secondary road way back 50 years. I agree with another one of your viewers that this road must be repaved with asphalt immediately. Argo Road Maintenance, the Victoria based contractor and Provincial highways must be held liable for any accidents and/or injuries that result. This is no way to treat local residents.
We have watched quietly over the years (and shook our heads) as various techniques have been utilized to repair these roads. In future we suggest experimenting elsewhere.
Thank you ODN for creating a forum to highlight local issues and news.
Tanis Hallett
Being a citizen of Willowbrook, I have to drive Fairview Whitelake daily. However, with this new gravel surfacing, I would rather take my business to Penticton. I do not want to constantly be washing my car, repairing chips, replacing windshields, and skating around on gravel. The gravel is a hazard to our safetly and our vehicles. I hope this is not a permenant fix to a road was once enjoyable to drive.