The pedestrian bridge that crosses over the old John Hart penstock corridor will be removed by January and donated to the Rotary Club of Campbell River.
The bridge was installed by BC Hydro in 2013 as part of the John Hart Generating Station Replacement Project to allow for continued public access to the Elk Falls Provincial Park during project construction. Over the last ten years there’s been about three million bridge crossings with people walking to and back from Elk Falls. Now, with the old penstock corridor to be largely filled in over the next year with material as a result of the John Hart Dam Seismic Upgrade Project, the bridge is no longer needed as the trail will become land-based.
“During our Campbell River community liaison committee meetings we mentioned that the bridge may be removed and through that, and with our long and ongoing relationship, we decided to donate it to the Rotary Club,” said Stephen Watson, BC Hydro spokesperson. “Our collaboration with them, and BC Parks, on the creation and opening of the Elk Falls Suspension Bridge in 2015 provided a great foundation for our community-minded relationship.”
The galvanized steel bridge is 36.5 metres long and 1.8 metres wide and weighs about 13,000 kg. It will be removed by crane and then trucked to a storage facility that the Rotary Club has identified within the Campbell River area.
“We appreciate the donation of this bridge to our club, as it demonstrates support for the community and the confidence BC Hydro has in our club’s ongoing work within Campbell River,” said Lorrie Bewza, Past President, Rotary Club of Campbell River, and who led the Elk Falls Suspension Bridge Project. “Our club is reviewing several locations to reinstall the bridge and will select the one that has the most positive and beneficial impact on our community.”
BC Hydro will be re-routing the land-based trail through the old penstock corridor area, twice, while the construction activities in this area take place.
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