Construction starts on 4th section of the Shuswap North Okanagan Rail Trail

Two more sections of the future Splatsin te Secwépemc/Shuswap North Okanagan Rail Trail have been completed.

On Friday, Splatsin te Secwépemc, the Columbia Shuswap Regional District (CSRD), and the Regional District of North Okanagan (RDNO) announced that construction would soon be starting on the next section of the trail between Sicamous and Armstrong.

Planning for a 50-kilometre greenway for walking and cycling from Sicamous to Armstrong has been ongoing for nearly a decade and construction started in spring 2023.

The first section between Enderby and Splatsin was completed that December.

Other recently completed sections include those between km 0.5 and km 4.4 from Sicamous and km 49.15 and km 50.15 into Armstrong.

The Armstrong section is open for use while access to the Sicamous section is restricted due to the Bruhn Bridge construction.

Construction on the next section between kilometre 4.4 and kilometre 14.8 along Mara Lake south of Sicamous was recently awarded to Skwlax Resource Management Ltd, the CSRD announced on Friday.

Construction will began earlier this week and it's expected to take six weeks.

Work will include erosion control, environmental works, culvert and drainage improvements, preparation and installation of the trail surface, fencing, crossing improvements, signage and landscape restoration.

According to the news release, flood erosion repairs won’t be done until later this year as the contractors wait to hear back from the province to review the 12 erosion locations.

That work will need to wait until low water levels are present in order to project fish habitat.

Construction will be accessing the site from the Sicamous section of the trail, which could result in longer work hours between 3-10 pm to get around those construction-related closures and still meet the rail trail construction timeline, the CSRD said.