The province has announced that they have completed removing the debris from the Red Bridge in Kamloops from the South Thompson River, marking a major milestone in the work to alleviate any long-term environmental impact.
Built in 1936, the wooden truss bridge was a load-restricted structure over the South Thompson, connecting downtown Kamloops with Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc lands on the north side of the river.
Designed and built at a time when traffic volume was much lighter, and vehicles were considerably smaller, its wood-planked lanes were only 2.7 metres wide (standard lane width today is 3.5 metres). Five rehabilitation projects were carried out on the bridge over the last 88 years.
On Sept. 17, 2024, firefighters and police responded to a blaze at the Red Bridge, and were able to put it out. However, at about 3:30 a.m. on Sept. 19, a second fire completely destroyed the structure. Kamloops RCMP have said that the second fire was deliberately set, and might be connected with the previous one, and are treating the incident as arson.
The destruction of the Red Bridge was a significant loss to the community. Since the fire, the Ministry of Transportation and Transit has worked closely with Tkʼemlúps te Secwépemc and the City of Kamloops on site cleanup and long-term transportation planning.
Cleanup efforts have been ongoing since September 2024 and, by late February, divers had conducted a final sweep of the river to check for remaining debris. A remote-operated vehicle and GPS were used to film the riverbed and track cleanup progress.
River cleanup finished at the beginning of March, onshore work on the north and south sides of the river has concluded, and a beach cleanup and restoration at Pioneer Park has been completed.
The ministry's next step is to begin the planning work to help shape a long-term solution that improves regional transportation, enhances safety, and better connects the local community. A request for proposals will be issued shortly for a consultant planning-and-design team to lead this work. The planning phase is expected to get underway this spring.
The investigation into the fire is ongoing, with the support of the General Investigations Support Team, Forensic Identification Unit, fire investigators, Kamloops Fire Rescue, and frontline RCMP officers from both the Kamloops city and Tk’emlúps rural detachments.
