Bridge rebuild will be years

The City of Kamloops expects years to pass before a new span is built to replace the historic Red Bridge, which was destroyed in a suspicious blaze early Thursday morning.

And in the meantime, drivers should expect congestion on a number of busy routes.

“It will create some havoc — and it's going to be, unfortunately, a long-lasting havoc,” Coun. Stephen Karpuk, the city's deputy mayor for September, told Castanet Kamloops.

The 88-year-old wooden truss structure went up in flames just after 3 a.m. Thursday and eventually collapsed into the South Thompson River. The city's fire chief said the blaze appeared to have started somewhere near the middle of the bridge.

Mounties have deemed the fire suspicious and they are investigating.

Karpuk said he could see a rebuild of the bridge taking at least two years and costing $200 million.

“We're talking years here, so changes are going to have to be made,” Karpuk said of local traffic patterns.

Thousands used bridge daily

Karpuk said the city is concerned the loss of the bridge will worsen congestion on Highway 5 southbound into downtown.

“It always backs up to River Street. It will probably be backing up further [now, and] we're going to have to address that for our traffic flow at the light there on Columbia [Street] to increase the amount of cars that can get through per light,” he said.

“We've got all sorts of things that we're working on right now.”

Karpuk said the Red Bridge saw up to 8,000 vehicle crossings per day, according to provincial data, and the city will continue to monitor and adjust to accommodate increased traffic on alternate routes.

He also said the city will remove the three-way stop on Lorne Street at Mount Paul Way, and adjust the timing on stoplights along Columbia Street based on anticipated traffic increases.

To adjust for increased traffic on other bridges, Karpuk said the city would like to see the province accelerate ongoing repairs to the Halston Bridge — work which is already expected to be complete by next month.

The Red Bridge connected Kamloops’ downtown with the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc reserve for 137 years. The bridge that burned on Thursday was rebuilt in 1936 following a previous fire.

The bridge is owned and maintained by the provincial government. Because of that, Karpuk said the city expects Victoria to pay for the entire rebuild.

“It'll be completely on them, whether they choose to rebuild it, which is our hope — in some form, or another place,” Karpuk said. “This is not a city taxpayer cost.”

City will demand replacement

Asked if he’s concerned the province may not bother to replace the bridge, Karpuk said the city would not accept such a decision.

“We’re not going to let them leave it. We are in desperate need,” Karpuk said, adding that even before the bridge went down there was a need to alleviate traffic congestion in the area and the Red Bridge was a vital link.

There has been no immediate commitment to replace the bridge from the province.

In a statement, B.C. Transportation Minister Rob Fleming did not offer specifics.

“We are working with other agencies on the immediate impacts resulting from the fire and to plan next steps for cleanup and restoration,” he said in a statement provided to Castanet.

He said once the full extent of the damage is known, his ministry will “sit down with the City of Kamloops and Tk’emlups te Secwepemc to discuss long-term plans for the bridge to make sure people can get to where they need to go.”

Castanet Kamloops asked whether Fleming's comments should be taken to mean the ministry intends to rebuild the bridge. The question was not answered.

Karpuk said the city will have a wish list of items it would like to see on a new bridge.

“I'm sure our staff and ministry will be coming up with some solutions on how to move forward,” he said.

The historic Red Bridge is a wooden Howe truss road bridge built in 1936 that spans the South Thompson River and connects the City of Kamloops to the Tk'emlúps band's reserve and the Mount Paul Industrial Park. It also provides alternate access from the city to the Yellowhead Highway.

The bridge that burned Thursday was the third wooden truss bridge located at the site. The first was built in 1887 and named the Government Bridge, commonly called the Red Bridge for the Douglas fir used in its construction.