The town of Smithers has concerns with several areas of bank erosion along the Bulkley River.
The immediate concern is Rosenthal Rd. leading to Dohler Flatts and the town’s sewage treatment plant.
The part of the road by the Perimeter Trail has seen significant damage after the region was battered by heavy rainfall recently.
Director of Development Services Mark Allen says it’s the only connecting road for about 20 residents.
He says they need to figure out how much it will cost to repair.
“At this point, we’ve only engaged a geotechnical engineer to assess the Rosenthal Rd. issue because that’s more immediate,” says Allen. “Although we cannot connect any river bank erosion with that sloughing of the the road shoulder, we think that just has occurred over time.”
He says over the past 20-30 years that area has seen about 100 feet of erosion. Several years ago, Allen says they even had to remove a house there.
The bank near the south end of the runway at the airport is also becoming a concern.
even the old bridge abutment at the end of Main St. has toppled into the river.
Allen says they’ll need a long-term strategy to deal with the overall problem. The town has also made the Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako aware of the issue.