Administration in the village of Chase are keeping an eye on whether four-laning of the Trans-Canada will ramp up this year after being delayed in 2019.

CAO Joni Heinrich is hopeful and staff have been keeping in contact with the ministry about the work to keep the project moving forward. “They’ve got hydro working on realigning some electrical servicing and they’ve done a lot of the survey work and they’ve done some archaeological work and they’ve done a bunch of brushing and preparing.”

Heinrich says the project will have a big impact on the community. “Because of the ease by which people can travel between Kamloops and Chase for instance, we can promote our community as a place where people can live and safely travel, commute to work in Kamloops or vice-versa.”

An email statement from the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure says that it is proceeding with the Chase Creek Road to Chase West four-laning project to improve the safety, reliability and capacity of Highway 1 for local residents, commercial drivers and visitors. It is a complex project requiring significant engineering and consultation. It is a 3.4 kilometre stretch of Highway 1 and the expectation is the work will tendered in the coming months, with construction expected to begin this year.