The Cheakamus Canyon Highway section of the Sea to Sky Trail may be in for an upgrade.
The Squamish-Lillooet Regional District (SLRD) is seeking $56,000 from the Trans Canada Trail Funding Program to pay for a design and engineering report for a new bridge structure as part of an effort to fill a 4.5-kilometre gap in the trail.
The Cheakamus Canyon section currently diverts trail-goers down to the Sea to Sky Highway. The SLRD’s proposed reroute would create an off-highway gravel trail within the road allowance.
Earlier this year, the SLRD submitted a trail design plan to the B.C. Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure. In response, the Ministry called for the regional district to re-design the section to include a separated bridge.
“We had hoped to use a very handy concrete wall that we could cantilever an aluminum structure off for our trail,” said parks and trails coordinator Allison Macdonald at the board’s Nov. 27 meeting.
“But they have directed us that we need to do a standalone bridge at that section, which requires quite a bit more engineering and design, as well as more money to build when we get to that stage.”
The board voted to advance the grant at the Nov. 27 meeting. The SLRD will apply to the Trans Canada Trail’s Greenway Development Stream, which supports projects that aim to “increase and improve active transportation,” while working to “minimize the trail being closed or rerouted at any given time.”
The Greenway Development Stream will make its decision on the SLRD’s grant submission in Spring 2025.
The Board subsequently voted to designate the use of operational reserve funding to pay for the research, should the grant be unsuccessful There is currently $214,534 available in the reserve.
The motions passed without question.
Construction on the entire 4.5-kilometre section of the trail is estimated to cost $3,252,411.
The Sea to Sky Trail is open year-round for walking, hiking or biking in the summer, as well as cross-country skiing in the winter.
For more information, visit slrd.bc.ca/services/recreation-culture/parks-trails/sea-sky-trail.
