Twenty-four years is a long time to wait.
Finally, plans for a new Lillooet Station Bridge are expected to go to tender in the fall of this year, with project completion slated for the fall of 2020.
The $8 million project is a partnership between the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure (MOTI) and Sekw’el’was (the Cayoose Creek Band).
Designs for the modern, two-lane span call for steel piles that will eliminate the need for a midstream supporting pier in the river. A pedestrian sidewalk will be part of the bridge.
Powerhouse Road will also be realigned and the curve will also be shifted slightly on the Station Hill end of the bridge, said Wayne Elke, consulting services manager/bridge designer for MOTI.
“I like what I see,” said Sekw’el’was Chief Michelle Edwards.
The existing single-lane bridge was installed as a temporary structure in 1994 until a permanent bridge could be designed and constructed.
The new structure will “support economic development in the Lillooet area by providing safer and more reliable access to the town centre for commercial operators, local residents and tourists and also ensure the smooth passage of traffic on the highway,” according to a display board at an open house about the project held in Lillooet in early March.
An estimated 800 to 1,300 vehicles use the bridge daily.
Preliminary archaeological studies have already been done in conjunction with Sekw’el’was and additional archaeological studies will be completed this spring. Utilities will have to be moved prior to work starting on the new bridge, which will be located just downstream of the current bridge. The current bridge will remain in place and will serve as a detour until the new span is finished.
“There shouldn’t be any changes in traffic flow during construction until we start doing the new roadwork,” said senior project manager, Lisa Amminson.
Impacts of construction on highway travelers will include occasional short delays which will be reported on Drivebc; emergency vehicles will have access through the construction site whenever necessary.
Two more bridges need to be rebuilt on the Duffey Lake Road (Highway 99 South) before the multi-year, multi-million-dollar bridge replacement project on that route is completed. Work has been completed on five bridges.
More information on the Lillooet Station Bridge project are available online at www.gov.bc.ca/lillooetstationbridge
