Pedestrians, cyclists and others who will use a new pathway to be built from the intersection of Apsley and Lakelse on the eastern end of town to the old Skeena Bridge won’t have to worry about rocks falling from above.
That’s because council is spending $199,020 to either remove rock or to install mesh barriers at specific sections.
The decision was made at the May 24 council meeting following a presentation from public works and engineering director Jonathan Lambert who explained what was contained in the one bid received for the work.
“Rockfall at these locations has always been a possibility and historically the risk has been managed through periodic scaling and inspections,” a detailed report from Lambert indicated.
“However, construction of the Lakelse Gateway Extension Project is anticipated to increase the number of active transportation users on this route for recreation and commuting purposes.”
Lambert did note that historically there have been no known cases of injuries from rockfalls on the route.
He said council could decide to undertake annual inspections and remove rock as needed but “the costs of these activities may exceed the costs of installing the proposed mitigation measures with 5-10 years.”
Steel wire mesh to prevent rocks from falling will be placed above a 110 metre long section and a 54 metre long section of the trail which is to be three metres wide of asphalt and one kilometre long. It will be separated from the vehicle lanes.
The work will be timed to coordinate with the construction of the pathway and both projects are to be timed with the closure of the old Skeena Bridge as it undergoes extensive rehabilitation.
The closure of the bridge will vastly reduce traffic, making the pathway and rockfall work easier and more efficient to complete.
The money for the rockfall prevention contract is coming from a major provincial grant received in 2019 and 2020 for capital projects or planning for capital projects.
Going into the May 24 council meeting the city had $3.239 million left of that grant to spend. Earlier that evening council voted to use $387,000 of that amount so that lighting could be included in another major trail project — extending from the Grand Trunk Pathway west of town to the Kalum River Bridge. The money left in the grant now stands at $2.653 million
The pathway itself will be built by Bear Creek and have a total project cost of $921,352, all of which came in the form of a provincial grant.