Project Description

The extreme rainfall events of November 2021 had major impacts on highways, highway structures and Indigenous communities throughout the Southern Interior and Lower Mainland, and highway infrastructure on Vancouver Island. The events caused closures on Highway 1, Highway 3, Highway 5 (Merritt to Hope), Highway 8 (Merritt to Spences Bridge), Highway 12, and Highway 99 (30 km west of Lillooet). The flooding pushed large debris into critical waterways and washed-out bridges and road embankments throughout British Columbia. Among the hardest hit areas was the Thompson-Nicola region. Flooding has resulted in the accumulation of various debris in rivers along Highway 8 which is located between Merritt and Spences Bridge.

Managed and funded by the B.C. Provincial Government, through the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy, the project consisted of planning, removing, staging, and disposing of man-made debris deposited in the rivers as a result of the atmospheric river event, and the engagement of the many First Nation communities impacted in this clean-up effort.

RAM’s Role

Working with various local Indigenous Communities, RAM’s scope on the $5 million project included Construction Management services on the removal of debris in the Nicola, Coldwater, Tulameen, Similkameen, and Fraser Rivers, all of which are provincially and federally protected. RAM was also responsible for the time-sensitive mobilization of equipment and collaborative methodologies that complied with landowner requirements, including First Nations governing bodies.