Strangely, however, this was the first time that we noticed a plaque K, being a local at the time, was faced with the necessity of crossing the lake into Kelowna daily during the time that this bridge was being built. Traffic on the old, three lane bridge was, at certain times of the day, not all that heavy. But, in the afternoons of the hottest days of summer, when K had to recross the lake, traffic could back up in Kelowna almost to the eastern end of Kelowna. This would mean that crossing the lake from his place of work, a trip of 3 or 4 miles, could require one hour or more.
You can imagine his relief when the new bridge opened on May 25, 2008. One hour trips became 7 minute trips.
Following a chase that began in Penticton, a pair of ne'er-do-wells met their Waterloo on the Okanagan Bridge at Kelowna. Facing shotguns and drawn handguns, they wisely succumbed to RCMP. Castanet, an Okanagan based online news outlet, ran several articles on the event, some as it happened.
Read the
End of the Story at Castanet.
Chaos on the bridge
David Wylie - Jan 12, 2017 / 12:00 pm
Mounties with rifles and handguns drawn arrested two people after blocking the bridge over Okanagan Lake.
Officers are not currently hunting any other suspects.
One man who drove across the bridge as the police drama was unfolding said there was major damage to the front end of a police cruiser, appearing as if it had been rammed.
Numerous other vehicles were also damaged.
"Something crazy was happening there," he said. "It's a big mess."
Traffic is backed up into West Kelowna. Police say they are working to open one lane into Kelowna.
"It's a gong show there now. Nobody's getting through for a long time," said the driver.
See more at Castanet
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