Harvie Passage was hammered by flood waters and officials are taking precautions to keep boaters safe until all the debris can be removed and the destruction repaired.
The province closed Harvie Passage to the public on Saturday and says exposed pipes, gravel deposits and loose rocks are making conditions unsafe.
The fire department’s Assistant Deputy Chief, Tyler Pelke says that the river has changed quite a bit since the flood and that significant damage was done to the river and its recreational infrastructure.
Pelke says the province sent out a team of engineers to assess the area and to take precautions to keep boaters and recreational river users safe.
“So the province actually came out and has assessed the areas, had their engineers come out and assess the area, and they’ve deemed it requires some significant repair so as part of that there are significantly more hazards present in the area. A lot of dangerous places and snags and debris and different kinds of hazards that were exposed now that the water is dropping, and so the province has deemed that they want to close the area during the repairs and so to assist with that, to make sure that they are ensuring the safety of river users, they’re putting in the boom in the same location that is used to be years ago when the weir was in place, putting in that boom again to divert people to a portage area so that they’re not exposed to the risks presently in Harvie Passage,” said Pelke.
Pelke says he doesn’t know how long the boom will remain in place because that decision is up to the province, but he thinks it might be awhile.
“If I was a betting man, the boom will be up and the area will be closed at least for this season at any rate,” said Pelke.
Boaters can travel down the Bow until they are just upstream from the passage and then they will have to get out and go around.
For more information, visit the Harvie Passage website.
