An airlift has taken place in the Central Okanagan.
The cargo: two new prefabricated bridges for Hardy Falls Regional Park just off Highway 97 at the south end of Peachland.
The new structures were designed and built by a New Brunswick company (Advanced Research and Development Canada Limited / Timber Restoration Services) at its plant in Oregon. They were taken apart and trucked to a vacant property near the park, where crews rebuilt them. This morning a West Kelowna helicopter company lifted and long line delivered the payload because the park is heavily forested and in a canyon.
The wooden bridges were specifically designed with a higher clearance above Deep Creek with the goal of minimizing any future spring freshet damage from high waters and debris. They replace bridges two and eight, which along with the approaches and trail sustained significant damage during the spring runoff in 2017.
With the new bridges in place, it is anticipated repairs to the trails in the park can be made by early May and the regional park will be once again open for visitors.
The Provincial Disaster Assistance program provided $48,400 to repair damage to this park.