Hang in there a bit longer.
That’s the message to loyal users of the Vedder Rotary trail.
The fenced off section near Peach Road is expected to stay in place for a few more weeks as the finishing touches on the project get completed.
Work on the Vedder trail has been ongoing for months as part of the the Vedder Bank Protection project by Canada Lands Company.
Trail users have been patiently using an alternate route all summer long, as a section underwent reinforcement.
The work had to be done within the fisheries work window which closed on Sept. 15.
“We did meet that deadline for the rock work,” said Ken Dueck, director, real estate for Canada Lands Company. “Now we’ll be putting in shrubbery, landscaping and clearing blackberry bushes on the north side.”
Rip rap in the form of large boulders, and new flat stone stairways, are now in place along a 600-metre section of the trail.
“It makes it safer for people to get down to the river.”
Some dead tree removal will keep the trail section closed behind the blue fencing for at least a few more weeks, said Dueck.
“We’re trying to get it all done now,” he said, acknowledging its popularity. As one of the busiest trails in Chilliwack, “it’s like a freeway of people.”
The project is connected with the new River’s Edge mixed residential project being developed by CLC. Without reinforcement, the trail could vulnerable to severe damage from future floods fuelled by heavy fall rainfall. In 1990, the popular trail was washed away.
“We want it looking just as nice as possible,” said Dueck, adding that the project conforms to the strictest engineering standards as well to withstand the high velocity of the Chilliwack-Vedder river system.
“The Vedder is not a snow melt river like the Fraser, it’s a rainfall river. That’s the nature of the flow.”
jfeinberg@theprogress.com
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