Up to $103.4 million has been earmarked to rebuild and realign West Fraser Road, heavily damaged by flooding in 2018, the provincial government said Wednesday.
It said the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure is finalizing the detailed design for a new road that will bypass the active slide areas along the section washed out in 2018. Work will include the construction of five kilometres of two-lane road on a new alignment, a new bridge crossing Narcosli Creek and rock stabilization work along the new route.
Upon completion of the final design, the ministry will hold a public information session in the spring to share details and project timelines. Construction is scheduled to begin afterwards and completion is slated for late 2022.
In April 2018, high water from the spring freshet caused Narcosli Creek to erode five sections of West Fraser Road on the west side of the Fraser River, about 17 kilometres south of Quesnel. The damage was severe, resulting in the road being closed over a three-kilometre section.
Since the washout, a detour route has been in place via the Garner and Webster Lake Road system and nearly $2 million has been put into improving the route with a contractor enlisted to provide maintenance.
But for members of the ?Esdilagh First Nation the upgrades could not come soon enough. "With the washout, we travel a longer distance to get to Quesnel and our children have had to endure additional travel time to get to school, reducing their time at home," Chief Roy Stump said.
The project has been approved in principle for funding support through Public Safety Canada's Disaster Financial Assistance Arrangement.
