Twenty-eight years after the swollen waters of M Creek tore down a bridge on the Sea to Sky Highway three kilometres north of Lions Bay, families of the victims are calling for a memorial to commemorate the tragic disaster.
After three days of hard rain even today's newly-expanded highway could prove treacherous and in 1982, after three days of hard rain, the then-called Squamish Highway was a hazard in itself.
A mudslide that reached a speed of 80 km-h wiped out the centre of the M Creek bridge in less than 30 seconds, leaving a gaping hole in the middle of the dark highway. Between 12:20 and 12:30 a.m. on Oct. 28 1982, four vehicles drove over the edge of the bridge.
Squamish residents William and Anne Boscariol lost their 19-year-old daughter Tammi Lee Boscariol that night, while she was driving back to Squamish with her boyfriend, Wayne Stewart Short.
"Tammi and her boyfriend Wayne were driving back from Vancouver and she never got home that night," said Anne Boscariol. "It was really raining. Our other daughter was down the road about an hour before that."
Short's truck was found three weeks later in 80 metres of water in Howe Sound with both bodies inside.
Anne and William made a memorial for their daughter and Short shortly afterwards, and it stayed there until Kiewit began the massive Sea to Sky highway reconstruction.
"We'd stop every time we went to Vancouver and cut the brush that was around the memorial," said Anne. "We'd park there and just walk down along the highway back when it was only two lanes, just to remember."
William said they received a call shortly after Kiewit began construction from the highways department asking them to come retrieve the crosses because they had been removed to avoid damage. According to William, a cement plant was put in their place.
Another cross for the George family, who lost four of five passengers in the accident, was also removed.
"We had ours and the George family had theirs," said William. Then we got the call to come pick them up but they promised to do something with it afterwards.
"They [Peter Kiewit] promised to put a memorial somewhere for the hundreds that have been killed on that highway. They should just call it the killer highway."
William said they haven't done anything to keep their promise yet, and they think something should be done before Kiewit leaves town and doesn't come back.
He said it was weird at first not to stop and visit every time they passed the site, but some sort of memorial needs to be put up.
"They said it would be done and it should be done," said William. "It's the decent thing to do; it needs to be replaced."
Mayor Greg Gardner said he hadn't seen the memorial when it was in place but agreed any promise should be honoured.
"I can't imagine anyone removing a memorial without replacing," said Gardner. "So if Kiewit has made that commitment it would be my expectation that they would keep it."
Calls to Kiewit were not returned.
