The mayor of Sicamous says the Trans-Canada Highway east of Salmon Arm is not capable of handling the amount of traffic that uses it on a daily basis.

Terry Rysz made that comment after a brutal crash last week, just west of Sicamous, which involved two semi-trucks and four other vehicles.

“And there’s just accident after accident. It’s just a killing zone. That accident, I mean we were very fortunate in the outcome of that accident that there were no fatalities. But the semi traffic is exponential along this corridor, now more than ever.”

Golden resident Chad Willox shared dashcam footage on Facebook of the crash, which happened when a westbound semi took a corner too fast and slid into oncoming traffic. Willox says the footage was from the semi-truck driver who was behind him, heading eastbound.

“Time to make changes to Commercial Vehicle regulations and training. A twinned national highway would seem appropriate as well. I’m very blessed to be alive,” Willox says.

Rysz says the highway is challenging for someone who’s not used to it.

“It’s ever moreso than if you take Kamloops going to Merritt and whatnot. You have to understand the dynamics of the Trans-Canada Highway between say the Alberta border, and especially between – let’s talk about B.C. – Golden, and say, Salmon Arm.”

Rice says commercial truck driver training is important, but says widening the highway needs to be a top priority from government.

“Let’s face it, we’ve been on a mission in order to get that highway four-laned and they just keep putting it off more and more. They kind of piecemeal it here and there a little bit; they’re doing a little bit of work in Salmon Arm, some in Chase. But they’re talking 2050 before they actually get this all done.”

(Photo: Facebook: Chad Willox)