Renewed calls for improvements on Hwy 5 north of Kamloops, B.C., following another fatal crash

In the wake of a number of fatal crashes along Highway 5 north of Kamloops, B.C., last year, municipal leaders and community members are renewing calls for added safety measures.

Three died in a head-on crash south of Barriere, a municipality located about60 kilometres north of Kamloops, on Dec. 28.

Krista Thomas, who lives in the North Thompson Valley, says she started keepingan informal running count of collisions on the stretch of highway.

Thomas says she has tallied49 collisionsand15 fatalitiesin 2023. CBCNews has askedRCMPfor crash data.

She said she started tracking collisionsafterher 19-year-old sonHarris wasseriously injured in an accident on Highway 5.

"The highway needs to be upgraded," she told CBC's Daybreak Kamloops. "We need more passing lanes because there's not enough."

Clearwater Mayor Merlin Blackwell attributes the deadly collisions on the stretch of highway north of Kamloops to Valemountto speeding drivers, a lack of traffic enforcement, and a roughly 40-kilometre stretch of the highwaythatnarrows from four lanes to two.

"Those people [who lost their lives] were trying to pass a semi-truck and they ran out of room and this happens quite a lot," he said. "People here are frustrated with the lack of passing lanes."

Another fatal crash took place on Dec. 28 in the Kamloops neighbourhood of Rayleigh. Blackwell saidthe crash occurred on a four-lane stretch of highway,an area that he says is not consideredhigh risk.

He is advocating for improved safety measures, includingmaking dashcamsmandatory for all commercial vehicles in B.C., saying it would makedrivers more accountable and provideevidence when crashes do occur.

Valemount MayorOwen Torgersonagrees.Three people who died in the collision nearBarrierewere from the central Interior community.

He says it's time the province invests in more infrastructureto makethe corridor safer.

"We just need to keep calling on the province to make the changes until it happens. But so far the we are not satisfied with the response from the province," he said.

In a statement to CBCNews, B.C.'s Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure said it's working on several highway improvements"based on discussions with local leaders."

"We have invested $21 million towards several passing lane projects along the Highway 5 corridor, giving motorists more opportunities to safely pass slower-moving traffic," the statement reads. It saidpassing lanes wereinstalled at Vinsulla, McLure, Darfield, Camp Creek and Chappell Creek between 2015 and 2018.

The ministry went on to say rumble strips have been installed in addition to other electronic and static curve warning signs along different sections of the Highway 5 corridor,measures thatit says"have successfully improved safety along other routes in the province."

Blackwell says more enforcement is needed, adding thatthere are jobvacancies.

"There's a lack of patrol officers on the highway. We want a firm commitment that the RCMP Highway Patrol positions here will be filled," he said.

In its statement, the ministry saidit has posted a tender for a pullout12 kilometres south of Barriere forCommercial Vehicle Safety and Enforcement(CVSE)inspections.

"Increasing traffic on Highway 5 corridor necessitates more commercial vehicle inspections," said the ministry statement.

It said the project will be completed by the fall.