Ministry says still no estimate for Kiskatinaw Bridge re-opening

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. – B.C.’s Ministry of Transportation says there is still no estimate for when the Kiskatinaw Bridge will re-open after a landslide occurred under the bridge last June, impacting one of its piers.

Last summer, the ministry said the bridge would be closed until material stopped moving and geotechnical and structural engineers could assess the bridge.

The ministry told Energeticcity.ca that the first stage of geotechnical field investigations at the Kiskatinaw River Bridge is complete. The work included drilling and installing instrumentation to measure the slope movement of the site.

“The ministry is now monitoring and collecting information from the instrumentation to establish rates and depths of slide movement,” the ministry said.

Once sufficient data is collected, a report of the findings will be completed to show what the ministry’s next steps should be. The report is expected to be released in 2023.

“At this time, it is too early to estimate when the bridge will re-open as potential slide impacts need to be fully understood first,” the ministry stated.

The bridge, built in the 1940s, is 30 kilometres north of Dawson Creek in Kiskatinaw Provincial Park.

The provincial park can be accessed through the south side of the Old Alaska Highway.