Contractors and crews are working on the final bridge of the 14 bridges that needed to be replaced or repaired in the River Valley.
With this bridge completed, the River Valley trail network will once again have uninterrupted access to the Fraser River.
Erick Peterson, Director of Protective Services for the City of Williams Lake said even though the project is nearing the end of the emergency phase the Emergency Operations Centre will continue to monitor it.
“Unfortunately just because we’ve reached the Fraser River doesn’t mean we are completely done. There are still some areas that need some work and there’s going to be some restoration work that will be continued on for probably another year at least. The River Valley has changed due to the flooding we had this year, we need to get it back to a proper state that’s good for fish and good for habitat”.
Peterson reminds the public that access to the River Valley trail network is currently closed.
“The public should still avoid the area, it’s still probably be closed to the public probably until mid-spring, just my guess at this point because right now there are bridges without guardrails and some unsafe areas”, Peterson said, “Construction crews are going to be down there still as well for months to come”.