The smoldering remains of the Red Bridge in September 2024. (Image Credit: CFJC Today File)

By Michael Reeve

NO FUNDING

Red Bridge replacement absent from B.C. budget as next update delayed to fall 2026

Feb 19, 2026 | 5:37 PM

KAMLOOPS — On Tuesday, the BC NDP Government released its latest budget to a chorus of criticism from the business community as well as from the opposition benches in Victoria.

In Kamloops, the budget spoke to the Kamloops Cancer Centre, but it provided little else for the Tournament Capital. Also absent from the budget was any mention of a replacement for the Red Bridge.

The historic 88-year-old bridge was lost to suspected arson in September 2024, and in the 17 months since there have been few details unveiled by the three partners in the rebuild, the Ministry of Transportation, Tkemlúps te Secwépemc, and the City of Kamloops.

“I don’t know if it’s disappointment, but the City of Kamloops will have to continue to be vigilant and make sure it stays on the radar for the province,” said Deputy Mayor Nancy Bepple.

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The Ministry of Transportation did provide a brief statement to CFJC.

“We are working closely with Tkemlúps te Secwépemc and the City of Kamloops to develop a long-term plan that reflects both community needs and the cultural significance of the area,” the emailed statement read. “The ministry and project partners are working to determine preferred options from the planning process.”

“I do know that city staff along with Tk’emlúps have been working on an ongoing basis, but the ministry is driving the bus,” added Bepple. “And they are the ones that have to make decision on where things go, but the city and Tk’emlúps are at the table every step of the way.”

Business in the Mount Paul Industrial Park like Mountain Medical Supplies have been hoping for good news on a replacement bridge, saying they miss the benefit of having approximately 8,000 vehicles cross the former wooden truss bridge each day.

“It adds at least 20 minutes to get anywhere because we now don’t have that quick access,” said owner Karen Daly. “It’s just disappointing and I’m sure everybody is not understanding why we are being left in the lurch her because it’s much needed.”

At Purity Feed, they’ve been forced to get creative by advancing online services so customers can get in and out as fast as possible, understanding the extra time required to get to the business.

“We are seeing more and more traffic hit the area, there is going to be a lot of new residential construction happen along Mt. Paul Way that is going to add to the traffic flow of Mt. Paul Way,” said owner John McCurrach. “It would be nice to have a solution and an answer.”

Previously, the Ministry had said that a conceptual design of the “preferred options” for a replacement bridge will be released this spring, but that timeline has now been removed from the province’s website. The next update on the bridge is now expected to come in the fall, according to the Ministry.

“We anticipate being able to share an update in the fall,” the emailed statement from the Ministry of Transport added.

“It is the ministry’s process, I don’t think it would be fair for the city to tell people what is happening when it’s really the ministry that know, the ministry that is deciding, the ministry that has the budget, and the ministry that has the timelines,” said Bepple. 

Earlier this year, Kamloops-North Thompson MLA Ward Stamer told city council that lobbying efforts will continue, though he also noted it could be as many as five-to-seven years before the Red Bridge is replaced.