Highway 1 at Nicomen, 19 kilometres south of Spences Bridge, will be closed to all traffic for 10 hours on Oct. 24/25.
The closure is required in order to remove the detour bridge that was put in place during construction of the new Nicomen River bridge.
The highway will be closed to traffic in both the west- and eastbound directions from 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 24 until 5:30 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 25. Access to Nicomen River Road will be restricted to westbound exiting traffic only.
Outside the closure period, existing traffic conditions (single-lane alternating traffic at the site) will be in effect until November. Expect delays of up to 15 minutes.
The new two-lane highway bridge at the site is now open to traffic. Bridge deck work, rehabilitation of the pavement on the bridge approaches, armouring the embankment, and grade-lowering activities are ongoing. It is anticipated that the project will be complete in summer 2025, and will provide improved safety, reliability, and climate resiliency at the site.
The Nicomen River bridge was badly damaged during the atmospheric river in November 2021 that saw the area pounded with heavy rain and flooding. Eighteen sites on Highway 1 between Spences Bridge and Hope were affected, with four sites — including Nicomen — requiring extensive temporary repairs before the highway could fully reopen in January 2022.
Permanent repairs at one of the badly-affected sites (Falls Creek/Jackass Mountain) was completed in July 2024. Rebuilding of the Nicomen Community Bridge (single lane with pedestrian walkway) is in the design phase, while construction has started on grade separation at Tank Hill, 14 kilometres east of Lytton. A conceptual design drawing shows that the highway will be built above the existing CPKC mainline, rather than passing beneath it as it did prior to November 2021.
For updates on road conditions, including highway closures, go to www.drivebc.ca.
