Cache Creek during the 2023 flood, located where the new bridge will be constructed (Image Credit: CFJC Today)

By Michael Reeve

NEW BRIDGE

‘We just don’t need to have something like that happen again’; Cache Creek welcomes bridge funding

Mar 18, 2026 | 5:07 PM

CACHE CREEK, B.C. — Provincial Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Funding (DMAF) will be used to build a bridge in Cache Creek where a culvert failed during extreme high water and flooding in 2023. The village has received funding to build the $4.2-million crossing along Quartz Road. The bridge once completed will mark the final major project for the village with respect to repairing damage caused by the 2023 flood in the community.

As high water streamed down from the hills into Cache Creek in 2023, the Quartz culvert was quickly overwhelmed, with water rushing over the road, causing substantial damage on its way toward the Fraser River. 

“It was running down the highway and even affected the bridge down by the Husky station, if you can imagine,” remembered Cache Creek Mayor John Ranta. “It was a foot deep going through the intersection of Highways 1 and 97. It was an awful situation. I think it was classified as a 1-in-200-year event.”

The new bridge will also allow for quicker access to the highway for firefighters. 

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“We just don’t need to have something like that happen again. It would be folly to put another culvert in here that can create such a huge backup of water coming down Cache Creek. It’s just a babbling brook most of the time, but during the spring freshet, sometimes it can flow very high,” added Ranta.

DMAF has been reworked in the aftermath of the 2021 floods in Merritt, now allowing communities to build back better instead of simply replacing what used to be.

“It will protect the village in the long run if there is another flood like it was in 2023. We hope there isn’t another flood like that but it’s unpredictable, as you know, and we are ensuring the community will be able to survive a high water event in the future,” said Ranta.

The challenge of DMAF for smaller communities is the requirement to pick up 10 per cent of costs – for Cache Creek, more than $400,000. It’s a big hit that needs reconsideration, according to the area’s MLA.

“Where does that end for that community?” questioned Cariboo-Chilcotin MLA Lorne Doerkson. “If this was a $20-million damage, are you telling me these guys would have to come up with [$2 million]? It’s challenging, right. I just think these communities – particularly the smaller ones that don’t have the tax base – really have to have that coverage through DFA and other programs the province would offer.”

With the funding now secured, the village will now move to tender on the project, which should help provide a clearer picture of when shovels will hit the ground.