Image: Troika

By Aaron Schulze, CFJC Today

Development just off the Coq Highway

Construction on Gateway 286 rest stop just off the Coquihalla could be completed in spring 2026

Sep 17, 2025 | 9:22 AM

MERRITT — Kelowna-based developer Troika is eyeing a completion date in May or June 2026 for the Gateway 286 project at the intersection of Highways 5 and 97C near Merritt.

Residents passing by the former Merritt rest stop along the highways south of the city will notice some changes throughout the fall and winter. Troika expects the foundations and footings to be in before the snow falls, with vertical construction to follow.

Following a groundbreaking ceremony in 2022, Troika CEO Renee Merrifield says its crews have finished their portion of offsite works for the future rest stop and the City of Merritt is expected to wrap up its share in September.

Merrifield told CFJC Today the completion of Gateway 286 is about a year behind Troika’s timeline. She accredited the delay to ensuring the site has enough electricity for electric vehicles (EV).

“We have one of the largest EV charging stations in Western Canada that’s going to be a part of the development, and it took BC Hydro a little bit of time to make sure we could get the amount of power necessary to have that,” Merrifield says. “We want to be a part of the future and be a place where fuels are offered, whether that’s electricity or gasoline. We wanted to make sure we were primed for whatever came and, in doing so, that took a little bit longer than we would have hoped.”

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On its Gateway 286 webpage, the City of Merritt says all on-site construction and development at the $40-million project is being privately funded. Merrifield says Troika paid the city for off-site works in May 2025.

The City of Merritt says off-site water and sewer systems are complete. Other duties the city has include roadwork and servicing, along with development and building permits.

However, the future rest stop may not necessarily be completely open for business once the project is complete in 2026. Merrifield says the onus is on the businesses coming into Gateway 286 to open their doors, although she hopes there’s a crossover period of when Troika crews are wrapping up their work and the incoming businesses are beginning theirs.

“Hopefully, we’ll be able to layer some of that work. It’s not as soon as we’re finished, then they get to start,” Merrifield says. “Hopefully, they’ll be able to start some of those tenant improvements as we complete the rest of the asphalt paving, landscaping, etc. Whether it’s Tim Horton’s, Wendy’s, Booster Juice or Canco, it’ll be up to them as to when they finally open.”

According to the City of Merritt, 20,000 vehicles are expected to pass the Gateway 286 rest stop daily, with restaurants, retail stores, a gas bar, EV charging stations, picnic spaces and a transit stop included. Merrifield is aiming for Gateway 286 to capture the attention of tourists passing by and eventually redirect them to Merritt.

“We want this to be the oasis that they can stop at, get refreshed, have a meal… it’s going to finally be a bathroom break area again for pets and humans,” she says. “We want this to be a place where people get to know Merritt and the [First Nations] that surround it. This is going to create a lot of jobs and boost the local Merritt economy, and then we’re also hoping that’s going to deliver long-term revenues that stay in the Nicola Valley.”

The former Merritt rest stop closed in 2018. The land was transferred by the B.C. government to the five Nicola Valley First Nations — the Upper Nicola, Lower Nicola, Coldwater, Shakan and Nooaitch bands — who joined together to form Spayum Holdings to oversee the project. Spayum Holdings then partnered with Troika and PR Petroleum.