Access to Haywire Bay Regional Park will reopen on Thursday, May 10.
The initial timeline for bridge upgrade work included plans for keeping the road to the park closed for approximately two weeks from the end of April, but crews have brought the project in ahead of schedule.
Park access is ready for the opening of the park on the May long weekend, according to Powell River Regional District asset management and strategic initiatives manager Mike Wall.
“I'm sure we're going to come in right around budget and definitely ahead of schedule, and it was all done in a safe and environmentally positive manner,” said Wall.
The road had been closed for about one week to replace an old, deteriorating wooden bridge structure, with a budget of $80,000.
Work was considered urgent due to the risk that deleterious substances would be deposited into a fish-bearing stream.
“All environmental concerns and safety concerns have been met,” said Wall. “It was a good project.”
The bridge install was completed on May 6, but with cleanup to be done, Wall said the regional district does not want people going out to Haywire Bay until Thursday morning.
Work entailed removing the old wooden structure. About 10 years ago, a metal deck bridge, such as those used by forestry companies, was placed over the old wooden structure.
The installation was not done properly, according to Wall. There was a limited window to complete the removal of the failing infrastructure and properly install the metal-span bridge to mitigate any risk to fish, he added.
“On top of the old infrastructure, which was wood, there was a cover of gravel for that deck and geofabric to hold that gravel,” said Wall. “As that wooden structure fails there's a significant risk of gravel getting dumped into the creek, which could have negative effects on fish.”
