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Province promises to hire engineers to look at the cost of repairing KVR

The trail between Princeton and Tulameen was destroyed in the November 2022 flood
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The provincial government is promising to investigate what it would take to repair the KVR trail between Princeton and Tulameen, which was destroyed in the November 2021 flood.

Princeton Mayor Spencer Coyne, speaking from the Union of BC Municipalities conference being held in Whistler this week, told the Spotlight Tuesday, Sept. 14 that a meeting with parliamentary secretary for environment Kelly Greene provided a hopeful first step.

“They are going to be putting out a Request for Proposals, to get an engineering study so they can get the total cost of repairing the KVR,” said Coyne.

“It’s not guaranteed we are going to get the money.”

Once the study is completed it will be presented at the federal level, in a bid to obtain funding.

Coyne acknowledged the cost would be a “big ask.”

In February of this year a spokesperson for the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resources Operations and Rural Development told The Spotlight that fixing the trail would likely take between three and five years, and several million dollars.

The province owns the trail, while its stewardship and maintenance falls to the Regional District of South Okanagan Similkameen (RDOS.)

The province removed part of the KVR trestle, which spanned the Tulameen River near the tunnel area, in March. It only removed parts of the bridge that were destroyed and threatening to fall into the water, creating a hazard.

The Princeton to Tulameen stretch of the trail is 24 km, and ordinarily a popular destination for off road vehicle enthusiasts.

Related: Province has no plans to replace KVR trestle near Princeton

Related: Princeton area KVR is ‘pretty much gone’ after flood

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Andrea DeMeer

About the Author: Andrea DeMeer

Andrea is the publisher of the Similkameen Spotlight.
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