Driving between Salmon Arm and Sicamous will continue be challenging for at least another two-and-a-half years.

Officials with the Ministry of Transportation and Transit provided and update on the Bruhn Bridge replacement at the April 17 Columbia Shuswap Regional District board meeting.

The project, which requires significant blasting, includes four-laning 1.9 kilometres of the Trans-Canada Highway, construction of a new four-lane bridge and demolition of the old one.

Kevin Weicker, engineering director of the R.W. Bruhn Bridge and Approaches Project, provided an overview of current activities on the construction site.
He explained the new bridge will include a separated, multi-use path that will tie into the Rail Trail.At the west side of the Narrows, a new interchange will replace the intersection at Old Sicamous Road and Old Spallumcheen Road.

Safety at this dangerous intersection is one of the main objectives of the project, and one that will allow much better access, Weicker explained.

Once the project is completed, Old Spall Road will connect under the highway bridge and continue down to area residents and the golf course.

"This is also where the multi use path on the bridge will connect with the rail trail, just on the west side of the bridge," he said, pointing out Old Spall. Road will be converted to a bike path, but the new Old Spall. will connect down to the Rail Trail via Gill Road. "We're working with Rail Trail folks to work out the final details for the multi use path."

Other features that will improve safety and accessibility will be: a right-turn-in, right-turn out access to connect eastbound Hwy. 1 traffic with Old Spall. Road and Old Sicamous Road, and  a right-in/right-out access to connect westbound Hwy. 1 traffic with Old Spall. Road and Old Sicamous Road. The current Hwy. 1/Old Spall. intersection will be closed.

Rock blasting continues once a day, with material blasted from the Old Spall./Old Sicamous intersection being trucked to a site between the current highway and a strip of land purchased from CP Rail, where it will sit for six months.

"We're just starting to move onto the west side of the Narrows and we're getting equipment into a space in old CP Railyard," Weicker said.

Turning to boat traffic in the Sicamous Narrows, Weicker said it will be available throughout the construction process, with a well-defined navigation channel so tourists and houseboats will go more or less where they do now. As well, the boat launch at end of Finlayson Street will remain open for the majority of the construction.

Both the navigation channel and boat launch will need to be closed while steel girders for bridge construction are placed in the channel, something that is planned for February 2026 when boat traffic is expected to be at a minimum. Access however, will be made available in case of emergencies.

Weicker expressed concern for the Shuswap Trail Alliance's Larch Hills Traverse trail from Salmon Arm to Sicamous, which is seeing increased activity as the spring progresses. The trail, used primarily by mountain bikers, ends in the western edge of the Sicamous construction zone.
"The number 1 priority is to keep users safe and we don't want them to ride their mountain bikes into a construction zone and be put into a situation where they are in an unsafe place," he said. "The contractor  is delineating the construction zone, putting up signage to direct the mountain bikers to safely get back down to the highway."

Following Weicker's presentation, Sicamous Mayor Colleen Anderson thanked project director Maike Schimpf for updates that "almost beat social media," and for work that has been done to improve the alternate route on Hwy. 97A along Mara Lake.

Anderson also wanted to make members of the public aware that opening Hwy. 1 when there is a minor incident on 97A does not make sense. She said it takes about one hour to clear Hwy. 1 when blasting has occurred, so closing 97A to traffic during clean-up is a better choice.
Anderson also thanked Weicker for addressing issues with Rail Trail access.

"It is important that (the ministry) and rail trail folks and District of Sicamous work closely together so the transition is safe and well-thought-out, not an after thought," she said. "As we're building a rail trail, a legacy to our region connecting it forward, and as we're building the Bruhn Bridge that will add value and time and safety to the region as well, it's key we think about those things now and as they land in their spaces where they are supposed to be."

Also pleased the boat launch will remain open, Anderson pointed out that while former parking spots are no longer available, others are being allocated on Finlayson Street.

Salmon Arm rep and CSRD deputy chair Kevin Flynn brought up the issue of speed limits on the alternate route, particularly when the Trans-Canada is closed.

He said Salmon Arm council received a letter from R.J. Haney Heritage Village and Museum expressing concerns about increased traffic speeding on Hwy 97B. And, he added, council is interested in knowing where it can direct its concerns about the speed limit at the Hwy. 97B and 10th Avenue SE intersection, which is the scene of frequent accidents, to where the road meets the Trans-Canada.

Flynn's suggestion that the speed limit be reduced, not only during the Bruhn Bridge construction project, but beyond received a response involving the RCMP providing a stronger presence.

"It's not about enforcement, it's changing the speed limit between 10 and 97 and Hwy. 97 and Hwy 1, perhaps forever, because when it takes over for Hwy. 1 it becomes even more dangerous," he said.

But Weicker pointed out many factors are involved with setting speed limits – traffic volumes, land uses, houses or kids walking on the highway, and also the look and feel of the highway.

"Sometimes it's actually detrimental to lower a speed limit on a highway that feels like people want to drive fast," he said, noting the project team is open to discussion about the complex issue. "You get the people that abide by the speed limit and others that go as fast as they want, and that speed differential can actually be very dangerous."

"Stupidity is still stupidity, and there's not much you can do about that," said Area E director Rhona Martin, who noted the many long-haul truckers that stop in at her Malakwa restaurant understand the need for road closures and try to plan their trips in order to avoid them. "Most people are just looking forward to the project being completed and to be able to move freely through the area."

But that will be a while yet.
 

Schimpf noted travellers can expect to experience closures as the winter hours are in place from Sept. 16 to June 14, and she does not expect that blasting will be completed by the introduction of summer hours on June 15.

She pointed to Drive BC and the ministry as being the most effective online site to source up-to-date information.

Regarding the alternate route, Schimpf said additional work has been done on Hwy. 97 A and B and that future work includes line painting and continuing maintenance.