Image Credit: CFJC Today / Kent Simmonds

By Michael Reeve

RED BRIDGE FIRE

City officials assured Red Bridge problem will get plenty of provincial attention, even with election looming

Sep 19, 2024 | 7:00 PM

KAMLOOPS — The Red Bridge, despite connecting the City of Kamloops to the Tk’emlups Reserve, is a provincial asset, managed by the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure (MOTI) under Minister Rob Fleming.

With the writ expected to be dropped on Saturday, provincial officials will be campaigning and not manning the phones in their office. That presented a huge issue for Kamloops in the wake of the Red Bridge fire, but Deputy Mayor Stephen Karpuk says it has been addressed after a conversation with the minister.

“The city is dealing with the asset as being provincial and putting up some costs and looking for some assurance that our costs are going to be covered,” Karpuk told CFJC News. “How we are going to work together given the writ is being dropped [Friday] and there is going to be a lack of a minister in charge… I think we have that structure figured out, which gives me a little bit more confidence that our staff can deal with the people in charge with MOTI and what that hierarchy is going to look like.”

The bridge saw between 7,000 and 8,000 vehicle crossings each day and the city is looking at all options to increase access from the north side of the river to the downtown core, including possible transit changes, and working to realign the traffic lights along Highway 5. It’s expected that a rebuild could take many years.

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“In that site, that bridge crossing has been there for well over 100-plus years. Bridge standards have changed. We can’t just put a Bailey bridge across there. I think with meeting modern engineering standards, and what makes the most sense to moving forward, it’s going to take some time,” said Karpuk. “What we need from the city’s side is assurances that it’s going to be a process that we are going to undertake sooner rather than later and I got some assurances from Minister Fleming that they are on it and willing to work with us on both sides of the river.”