Ed.’s note: We wrote about safety concerns at Three Valley Gap in our Dec. 20 issue.
Good column on the 3 Valley Buffs.
A wise Engineer with intimate knowledge of the 3 Valley problem once posited that:
Given that laws of physics prevent you from building sheds capable of withstanding the anticipated loads, and tunnelling is prohibitively expensive, the optimal solution is to build a twin track (two-lane) tunnel on the other side of the lake for the CPR, move them into it, and then take their much better lake -side grade – where you *can* build 4 lane snow sheds where needed.
You can build the whole thing “off-line” with no disruption to the railroad or highway corridor, and no disturbance of what is now a protected waterway.
Alas, I think only people like W.A.C. Bennett and P.A Gagliardi, legendary Premier and Hwys. Minister from Kelowna and Kamloops respectively, would ever have the courage or political capital to commit to a vision like that. And the prodigious cost of even that elegant 3 Valley solution will pale in comparison to the considerable hwy. engineering challenges along any of the Eagle Pass lakes, or adjacent to the river, …never mind Kay Falls 😉
Grainger Wilson
Revelstoke
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