Editor:
Beaver Valley’s very own Gong Show is entering its ninth season starring MOTI.
Every spring Choate Creek washes out the Beaver Valley Road and causes havoc for those who rely on this connecting route between the Horsefly and Likely highways.
Every year, MOTI (Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure) takes the bandage approach by adding more material and culverts which increases the devastating, long-term effect on the downside of the road.
Hundreds of thousands of dollars have been spent/wasted over the years on numerous consulting fees, stop-gap measures, etc. with no progress to date. We now learn that MOTI plans to hire yet another engineering firm to evaluate the situation and that this process will take two years. The new project manager on site is from the Kamloops office and whose actions to date do not instil confidence in the project going forward.
We reluctantly sold land at the site to MOTI in early 2012 so they could work on a speedy remedy. We had concerns at the time and MOTI confirmed “…we are committed to working with you during the planning, design and construction phase of the project such that any concerns you may have are considered and addressed to the best of all parties satisfaction.”
We remain very unsatisfied.
A major concern is the continual build-up of gravel on the downside of the road.
Every year we request this problem be dealt with and contained but as culverts become plugged, more are installed over a wider expanse having the opposite effect for containment. There now exists a huge delta of gravel and debris. The once defined flow of Choate Creek into Beaver Creek has been non-existent for many years and is not a priority for MOTI or DFO (Department of Fisheries and Oceans), a disastrous result for fish habitat.
Another concern that is never addressed is the yearly erosion of soil and fields. Gravel deposits and uncontrolled water flow have resulted in the loss of productive hay land and rendered fences useless.
In discussions with the powers that be, any meaningful solutions to this saga are a long way off and we can be assured of many more episodes of the gong show.
Howard and Stephanie Briscoe
Beaver Creek Ranch