Highway 8 temporary access hoped to be restored this spring

Photo: BC Gov

The Ministry of Transportation says it hopes to have temporary access restored to the Highway 8 corridor this spring.

The region between Merritt and Spences Bridge was the hardest hit by November’s floods. Along 45 kilometres of highway, there are 23 sites of “significant damage” consisting of 20 washouts and three damaged bridges. Six kilometres of the road and several homes were simply washed away.

In an update this week, the Ministry of Transportation says crews are still in phase 1 of their response: emergency access and temporary construction.

“We anticipate this phase of work will be complete in the spring, including restoring access for residents. We will share more information as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience,” the ministry said.

Crews have now achieved construction access to the site 21 kilometers east of Spences Bridge. Crews are also beginning work on the rock/bridge end fill to rebuild the westside approach to 3 Mile Bridge. Bridge abutment repairs at Rattlesnake Bridge have been completed

Temporary repairs have been completed near N'Kwala, 17.3 km west of Mamit Junction. The severe weather and flooding caused significant erosion approximately 500 metres west of the popular N'kwala Recreation Site.

“After clearing and preparing the area our team used rock and dirt fill to build up the road base and restore this section of highway. This is one of five sites where temporary repairs are now complete,” the ministry said.

The provincial government says wildlife is also starting to return around restored fish habitats.

“We were pleased to recently find a beaver among the woody debris installation at the site 24.9km east of Spences Bridge.”

Photo: BC Gov

BC Highway 8 - progress made on 3 Mile Bridge