Trestle's revamp is a bridge too far for history buffs

B.C. paying $1.6-million for new structure

LYLE JENISH

The Globe and Mail

VICTORIA -- Vancouver Island's Kinsol Trestle, the longest wooden trestle in Canada, may be spared the executioner's chainsaw.

The B.C. government, which last May agreed to cover the $1.5-million cost of tearing it down, has now agreed to inject an additional $1.6-million to cover costs for a new structure that is safe for pedestrians and cyclists. But critics argue it is not faithful to the early 20th-century trestle design that used first-growth Douglas fir and utilized an Erector Set sensibility.

"It's 615 feet long, 145 feet high at its highest point," Tom Paterson says of the 86-year-old former Canadian National Railway bridge. "When it was built, it was the fourth-longest trestle in the British Commonwealth. The other three are gone; now it is the longest."

Mr. Paterson, a Duncan-based author and historian, wants the current trestle rehabilitated, with the "sickly wood" removed and replaced with comparable Douglas fir timbers. "Most of the wood is good and the interior wood appears brand new because the creosote has weathered very well."

But even with the extra provincial funding, rehabilitation remains a very costly option. According to the Cowichan Valley Regional District, a labour-intensive, fastidious restoration will cost $6.2-million, while a teardown and a reasonable facsimile rebuild -- the same height but two-thirds the girth and guts of the current trestle -- will cost $4.2-million. "If you tear the trestle down and rebuild it differently, with new material, how can you call it 'historic?' " asks Kathryn Gagnon, curator of Duncan's Cowichan Valley Museum and Archives.

Ms. Gagnon says Ralph Morris, a CNR-employed engineer and the last caretaker of the trestle that last felt the weight of a train in 1979, advised that most of the wood is still robust and strong enough to remain in service. She says that while she doesn't dispute the fact the trestle needs repairs, efforts should include retaining at least 20 per cent of the current Douglas fir, to give the structure at least some historical authenticity.

"I appreciate their passion and attachment to history, but consultants have told us, and we have concluded, that it is not safe or fiscally sensible to restore the trestle," says Brian Farquhar, Cowichan Valley Regional District parks planner.

Mr. Paterson says even if the decision to tear down and build anew proceeds, the coal tar and carcinogenic-coated timbers pose a problem. "The creosote is an albatross," he says. "While it does not go to the heart of the wood, each timber must be sawn and the creosote contained. Tearing down the trestle in an environmentally friendly manner is likely a whole other issue."

The Kinsol Trestle (named after now-defunct King Solomon copper mine) spans the Koksilah River, west of Shawnigan Lake, approximately 10 kilometres off the Trans-Canada Highway. More than 700,000 feet of timber was used in the trestle, and Mr. Farquhar says removal would likely be by crane with the river safeguarded from debris during dismantling.

Mr. Paterson says he first encountered the trestle five years ago, while hiking the steep river valleys of south-central Vancouver Island.

He says the fact the trestle is part of the Trans Canada Trail, the nationwide initiative to connect Canada's provinces and territories via an 18,000-kilometre recreational trail, and its legacy as a link in the Canada National Railway, should warrant special federal consideration and support. So far, he says, there has been none.

Jack Peak, Town of Lake Cowichan mayor and chairman of the board for the Cowichan Valley Regional District, is optimistic. He says an extra $3-million must be raised "to restore the trestle to its original state, which is very doable."

"The Kinsol Trestle has world significance. It can be another attraction to bring hikers and bikers from around the world to Vancouver Island," says Mr. Peak, adding the allure it holds is as the real thing, "and not as a reasonable facsimile."