‘We need this bridge,’ Kamloops residents stand firm in desire for Red Bridge replacement

As part of the consultation process, the B.C. government is asking people their thoughts on how to better transportation connections between the city and Tkemlúps te Secwépemc. An open house was held at Moccasin Square Gardens on June 3, while another was held Thursday (June 11) at Sandman Centre.

“We’ve heard loud and clear that the bridge needs to be built back and it needs to be two lanes and a multi-use path,” O’Reilly said.

“It was pretty clear from listening to the conversations in the room [Thursday] night in Sandman Centre and at Moccasin Square Gardens last week that most people want a bridge that carries traffic,” added Councillor Stephen Karpuk.

Earlier this month, the province put forth three options – a wider vehicle bridge built to modern standards, an active transportation-only bridge or general highway network improvements in the area.

“Why not all three? if you’re going to propose three options, why not all three of them?” wondered Joshua Gottfriedsen, the CEO of the Scwénwen Economic Development Corporation, the business arm of Tkemlúps te Secwépemc.

“People deserve the ability to cross safely across the river and any opportunity to do that to improve our infrastructure should be taken.”

The Ministry of Transportation and Transit is considering a number of factors including costs, engineering, environmental impacts and future traffic demand before it moves ahead. Archeological and geotechnical work is ongoing at the site of the former bridge as the province works through its processes.

“Hearing language around now there is concern around geotechnical on the shoreline and this and that… I mean bridges span waterways in British Columbia so this cannot be the most unique geotechnical situation for a bridge ever known in B.C.,” Kamloops Centre MLA Peter Milobar said.

“If we look at the updates that should be done, they’ve been on the books for a decade so this doesn’t abdicate the province from their responsibilities to improve the efficiency of the Valleyview corridor and along Highway 5,” added O’Reilly.

“I also don’t want the province saying, ‘We built you the bridge, we’re not doing any of the improvements.’ When the Red Bridge is replaced, there are going to have to be infrastructure upgrades in and around the bridge, and that also needs to be done by the province.”

People who spoke to CFJC at Thursday’s open house said the province’s own data that showed over 8,000 cars and a few hundred pedestrians and cyclists used the old bridge is proof anything less than a bridge with two lanes of traffic and a multi-use path will be a waste of time and money.

“From what I’ve heard, there’s been about 5,000 people who have submitted comments online,” O’Reilly said. “What the province heard yesterday is what we’ve been hearing as council in our inbox since the bridge burned down.”

The feedback gathered until June 26 will help inform the next steps of this process, with more information expected to be released this fall.

“If you’re from Kamloops, everyone has been saying we need to replace it from day one,” Milobar said. “The government said they would replace it on day one and here we are two years later talking to the public to ask them if they would like to see it replaced.”

“I think it’s pretty clear that it needs to be replaced.”

O’Reilly said the city plans to keep advocating for the bridge, noting “the best time to build it was yesterday, while the next best time is tomorrow.”

“We will continue to advocate independently ourselves, Tk’emlúps is advocating but we will do joint advocacy, as well,” he added. “That won’t stop until the bridge is built.”

by Victor Kaisar

‘We need this bridge,’ Kamloops residents stand firm in desire for Red Bridge replacement

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