Mayor of Revelstoke David Raven will travel to Ottawa in September where he'll appear before a pre-budget committee to present the case for funding to improve the Trans-Canada Highway between Malakwa and Golden.
Raven made the announcement at the Aug. 23 Revelstoke city council meeting.
He told council that Okanagan-Shuswap MP Colin Mayes and Kootenay-Columbia MP David Wilks had appeared at the Aug. 18 Columbia Shuswap Regional District (CSRD) board meeting in Salmon Arm. At the meeting, the Members of Parliament expressed their support for the lobby to improve the highway.
"They're both firmly committed to lobbying for upgrades to the Trans-Canada Highway," Raven told city council on Aug. 23. "They're very, very serious about that."
Raven will travel along with Golden mayor Christina Benty and former Revelstoke mayor Mark McKee. McKee led a group called Revelstoke for a Safe Trans-Canada Highway, a group that lobbied for improvements.
According to a CSRD spokesperson, the group will be asking Ottawa for a commitment of $150 million a year for 10 years to be spent on the improvements, totalling $1.5 billion.
Raven said he appreciated both Mayes' and Wilks' support. "I do really appreciate the support from both MPs," he told council. "It's pretty solid."