Taylor Bridge Background

About Taylor Bridge

Opened in 1960, Taylor Bridge is aging and has been identified as a concern. The bridge deck requires regular maintenance that leads to frequent bridge closures, lengthy travel delays, and extensive detours for overweight industrial trucks and equipment. The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure is undertaking engineering work to identify a long-term solution for the bridge that will serve the region for decades to come.

The two-lane, 712-metre long bridge is a vital link for the North and South Peace Regions, connecting Fort St. John to Dawson Creek, via Taylor, B.C. The Ministry is committed to planning a long-term solution that is safe and efficient for moving people, goods, and services..

Of the approximately 7,500 daily vehicles cross the bridge every day, 30% of this traffic is made up of commercial truck traffic, for oil and gas, mining, forestry, and agriculture. The bridge is important to B.C.’s economy.

The bridge is continuously maintained for safety. However, ongoing bridge maintenance on the open-steel grid bridge deck requires more than 100 maintenance days per year, costing an estimated $1.0 million per year. This results in traffic delays as each repair requires up to 25 minutes of closure and traffic delays last up to 45 minutes each.

The complex project has several areas of investigation:

Consulting with First Nations

The project area is located in Treaty 8 area. The Province is committed to moving forward with true and lasting reconciliation and will consult and accommodate Treaty rights. Consultation with eight Treaty 8 First Nations is underway and will be an important part of designing options for a long-term solution.

Technical Investigations

Geotechnical investigations will help us better understand the geology of the Peace Canyon, slope stability, and provide important information in designing options for the future. Geotechnical investigations will also incorporate the experiences from Site C, Old Fort slide and South Taylor Hill projects. Hydrotechnical considerations of the Peace River will also be influenced by the Site C dam and will require significant investigation and design consideration.

Protecting the Environment

The development of a long-term solution for the bridge will consider environmental impacts, in order to avoid, reduce, or mitigate impacts on the Peace River, fish and fish habitat. Environmental considerations will also account for efficiency improvements to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles.

Opportunities for walking, cycling, and other active transportation

Under the provincial CleanBC strategy to address climate change, the Taylor Bridge Crossing planning and development project will consider opportunities to improve transit, as well as active transportation, such as walking and cycling. The project will consider Gender Based Analysis Plus (GBA+) – a tool that allows us to assess the impact of government decisions on diverse groups of people and ensure everyone has access to safe and efficient transit and active transportation.