Nicola River along Highway 8 in January 2024 (Image credit: CFJC Today/File photo).

By Aaron Schulze

Highway 8 Repairs

Request for proposal issued to four companies vying to design and repair Highway 8 east of Spences Bridge

Mar 19, 2024 | 11:12 AM

SPENCES BRIDGE, B.C. — Progress on permanently repairing a vital transportation link for thousands of residents in B.C.’s interior is on to the next step.

In a news release issued Tuesday (March 19), the B.C. government says it selected four teams to participate in its request for proposals stage to design and construct permanent repairs to a portion of Highway 8 nearly 15 kilometres east of Spences Bridge.

The four candidates are Aecon-Emil Anderson Construction General Partnership, Atkins Réalis, EllisDon Corporation Flatiron Constructors Canada.

The province says the work on Highway 8 between Merritt and Spences Bridge includes replacing two temporary structures with permanent bridges and constructing nearly three kilometres of roadway connecting them. Design work is expected to start this fall.

Meantime, the province says crews are continuing work on groundwater conditions near Highway 8 throughout the spring. In its March newsletter, the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure says restoration work is planned for this summer. It may include side channels, placing rock clusters to create areas with calmer water for young fish, or planting vegetation to create cool areas in the Nicola River.

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Thirty locations were damaged on Highway 8 between Merritt and Spences Bridge due to the atmospheric river and flooding event of November 2021. The stretch of Highway 8 was closed for nearly a year prior to temporary fixes in November 2022.