Sooke has awarded the tender for a pedestrian and cycling bridge to link the Sunriver neighbourhood with local schools and the town centre.
Regehr Contracting Ltd. was chosen after a competitive-bidding process for the Little River Pedestrian Crossing Project, which has a $2-million construction budget.
The Little River bridge crossing will span DeMamiel Creek, referred to as Little River by the T’Sou-ke Nation.
It will link Sunriver, including the growing Ravens Ridge Park, to Journey Middle School, École Poirier Elementary and Sooke’s town centre to the west of the waterway, replacing an eight-kilometre round trip on the highway with 1.2 kilometres of walking or cycling.
A ceremonial start to construction is planned for later this month, and will include students from both schools, said Sooke Mayor Maja Tait.
The goal is to have the project complete by the start of the 2025/26 school year, she said.
The crossing is part of a multi-use trail project that would allow people to walk or cycle rather than driving from one side of the community to the other.
That helped to secure a $1.3-million Active Transportation Grant from the federal government, as well as $500,000 in active-transportation funding from the province.
Site preparation will take place in January and February to avoid bird-nesting season from March to June, while trail and boardwalk work will be done throughout the spring.
Bridge construction and work in the creek will be done from Aug. 1 to Sept. 15 so as not to affect area fisheries.
Tait said the project is a “milestone” for district trails and shows the district’s commitment to “a walkable, connected community” that is sensitive to the environment and provides an option that can reduce reliance on nearby Highway 14 — where congestion is an ongoing issue.
The trail system is 10 years in the making, she said.
The Little River crossing has been a high priority in Sooke’s Parks and Trails Master Plan since 2020.
>>> To comment on this article, write a letter to the editor: [email protected]
