SEPTEMBER
• Sicamous submitted an application for age-friendly designation from the provincial government.
• A B.C. government document listed a Main Street bridge, along with a new four lane structure crossing the narrows, as the preferred option for the replacement of the Bruhn Bridge.
Available on the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure website, the document entitled Trans-Canada Highway 1/ RW Bruhn Bridge Replacement, May 2016, provides an overview of known issues with the 54-year-old structure, as well as three recommended options for its replacement.
One of the recommended options is for the existing Bruhn Bridge to be replaced with a four-lane structure. Additionally, a second bridge would be constructed at the end of Main Street landing, and the current Old Spallumcheen Road/Highway 1 intersection would be closed.
The MOTI document notes this is the preferred option of council and First Nations.
• Sgt. Murray McNeil plans on being the Sicamous RCMP detachment’s commander for some time.
“I’m going to be here for a while,” he said in his second week with the detachment. “I know Sicamous has had a history of commanders not staying very long. But with myself, I was just promoted into this position, and that’s a minimum two-year requirement – I’m staying longer than that. I have no intentions of leaving anytime soon.”
The New Brunswick native began his career with the Revelstoke detachment in 2000 and his familiarity and appreciation for the area influenced his decision to jump on the opportunity to return, this time with his wife and two-year-old son.
Meanwhile, the Sicamous detachment saw a quiet Labour Day weekend, responding to 24 calls for service on land and on water.
• Sicamous Mayor Terry Rysz assured residents concerns regarding the new public boat launch in Old Town Bay will be addressed.
At issue was the close proximity of the recently constructed, $255,000 launch to the adjacent docking system for Twin Anchors’ future marina – a project under construction.
Noting the matter was complicated, with a number of factors at play, Rysz said all the players involved were trying to find the right fix.
• Sicamous resident Paul Keam wanted to make sure the community is ready for the Highway 97A roundabout when it’s ready for the community.
A certified ICBC driving instructor, Keam had the idea of teaching a small group of seniors between the ages of 70 and 80 everything they need to know to successfully navigate a roundabout.
• Shovels will soon be in the ground as construction begins to replace Malakwa’s North Fork Bridge.
The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure said construction would start later in the year and is expected to be completed in 2018.
The 58-year-old North Fork Bridge, located east of Sicamous, is the last remaining bridge with a metal truss on the Trans-Canada Highway. The two-lane structure provides a low clearance and no shoulders.
The bridge was the site of 61 collisions between 2002 and 2011, with one fatality, 15 injuries and 45 property damage collisions.
• Sicamous RCMP were treating a Sept. 22 residential construction fire on Temple Street as arson, and were asking the public for information.
Sicamous firefighters responded to a report of a fire inside the house under construction around 10 a.m.
