(Image Credit: CFJC Today File Photo)

By Victor Kaisar

Juniper Ridge Access

Work to build second permanent access road to Juniper Ridge underway

Dec 11, 2025 | 2:58 PM

KAMLOOPS — The City of Kamloops says work to build a second permanent access route to Juniper Ridge has begun.

The $11.2-million project will connect Qu’Appelle Boulevard and Rose Hill Road, and the city will recoup more than half of that amount from Juniper West Developments Ltd., as city staff noted the developers don’t have “firm plans” to develop the area due to a “downturn in the real estate market.”

Kamloops council approved a development works agreement last month which will see the city use short-term borrowing to take on the developer’s roughly $6.7-million share of the costs. It will then build the road on undeveloped lands owned by Juniper West and the developer is contractually obligated to reimburse the city by Dec. 31, 2032.

The City of Kamloops will fund its share of the cost — $4.5 million — through development cost charges and build the rest of the 1.1-kilometre road on public lands.

A map showing the proposed route of the second permanent access route connecting Juniper Ridge and Rose Hill. (Image Credit: TRUE Consulting Ltd./via City of Kamloops)

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According to the city, road alignment and vegetation clearing work has begun in order to avoid the regional active bird-nesting window. Major earthworks are expected to take place next year and the new road is expected to be open by 2027.

The new Juniper access road will feature two paved lanes – one in each direction – and a multi-use pathway for pedestrians and cyclists. It will also include third-party utilities, stormwater infrastructure and new street lights.

“The project is a response to lessons learned during the 2021 interface fire, when the Juniper Ridge neighbourhood experienced challenges evacuating through a single access route,” Matt Kachel, the city’s infrastructure delivery divisional manager, said in a statement.

“Once complete, the 1.1-kilometre extension will create a safe, reliable connection between the west end of Qu’Appelle Boulevard and Rose Hill Road.”

Work on the Qu’Appelle Boulevard extension – which had been identified as far back as 2007 – as well as the three emergency exits in Juniper Ridge began in earnest after the Canada Day fire of 2021, as a number of residents who were trying to flee their homes were trapped on Highland Road.

Three emergency exits have since been built. The Juniper East emergency exit connects Kicking Horse Drive to Valleyview Drive while the one on Coldwater Drive connects to High Canada Place in Rose Hill. The third emergency exit – on Galore Drive – also connects to Rose Hill Road.

Kachel also notes there are plans to upgrade Rose Hill Road, including the intersection with Valleyview Drive, once the new Juniper access route is built, with more details expected to be released “as the project progresses.”

The latest on the second permanent access route to Juniper Ridge can be found here.