Naramata, B.C. group working to reopen historic Adra Tunnel | 24CA News
A key piece of Naramata, B.C.’s historical past has been closed to the general public for greater than 40 years, nevertheless, the Adra Tunnel is on monitor to reopening within the close to future.
The Woodwackers 2.0 fashioned as group of neighborhood members from Penticton and Naramata to soundly reopen the tunnel.
“We range in age from 80 to 20 and all different skill sets and experience have come together to provide volunteer hours, designing, engineering, and it’s been about two years in the process to get to where we are now,” stated Woodwackers 2.0 member Terry Field.
“My grandparents grew up in Naramata, so I have a lot of history visiting them in Naramata and I had the opportunity to get involved so I put my hand up and the process has been amazing seeing the community come together.”
The Adra Tunnel is situated alongside the KVR path simply above Naramata and runs about 490 metres lengthy.
The horseshoe-shaped tunnel was initially excavated in 1914 as a part of the event of the Kettle Valley Railway. Rail operations stopped within the Seventies whereas the rail mattress was purchased by the provincial authorities in 1990.
“I think it’s huge, it’s got so much history — and it it’s a semicircle design so they had two crews that were working at both ends of the tunnel and they had to meet in the middle, which is a huge engineering feat to this day,” stated Field.
“The Woodwackers from there, they took it on themselves to try and reopen it and carry on that heritage and that history and I think it would mean a lot to everyone to see it reopened and be able to access it in their backyard.”
The 100-year-old tunnel was initially closed within the ’90s attributable to unstable situations.
According to Field, the primary Woodwackers group labored to reopen the tunnel many years in the past. However, two fires have been set contained in the tunnel.
One of the fires, again in 2012, burned for practically every week and destroyed the remaining timber helps, additional deteriorating the soundness.
“The original Woodwackers are community members from Naramata, and they took it upon themselves to maintain the trail amenities. So they would fix drainage, they built hiking trails and biking trails. They would place picnic tables and outhouses and also honor historical sites like the Adra Tunnel,” stated Field.
“The Woodwackers, they safe-scaled and rock-bolted 100 meters into the tunnel and that’s as far as they got and we are trying to do the same.”
Engineers have since entered the tunnel for feasibility research and to design a plan on how one can safely open the tunnel.
Recently the group acquired a inexperienced gentle from the province to maneuver forward with the subsequent part of rock bolting however the Woodwackers have hit a pace bump.
“It’s interesting with this type of project. You don’t know until you progress throughout the tunnel until you explore more rock,” stated Field.
“Right now, we’re at a phase where we’ve encountered a section that needs additional rock support, and we need more funding to get there. We’re trying to make it happen as soon as we can.”
Although the mission was initiated by the Woodwackers, the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen (RDOS) is supporting the mission.
“The RDOS is supporting them how they can. The Woodwackers have come forward just with what they need, sometimes it’s just conversations with the province and that kind of bridge where needed,” stated RDOS Area E Director Adrienne Fedrigo.
“RDOS does have the authority over the KVR with a contract with (recreational) sites and trials, so they are just that, supporting reopening for them.”
Fedrigo went on to say that the tunnel performed an essential function locally and is happy to see it reopen to the general public.
“The KVR itself just has such a strong and long, rich history — reopening it and just that connecting piece through the KVR, kind of helps to reopen the full breadth and extent of what the KVR is,” stated Fedrigo.
Meanwhile, the neighborhood group has no public funding and the work completed to this point is all due to volunteer hours and personal donations.
“We teamed up with the RDOS and the Community Foundation, and we’ve been receiving funds privately in the community,” stated Field.
“We’re very grateful for the donations that have come in. A lot of donations, equipment, and a lot of volunteer hours, running equipment and cleaning out the tunnel.”
There isn’t any timeline in the mean time as to when the tunnel will reopen.
However, as soon as it’s open, the general public will be capable of stroll or bike by means of the piece of historical past.
“We have local architects designing the recreational site outside of the tunnel. There’ll be information signs in the area, washrooms, picnic tables and an area to park,” added Field.
“It’ll be its own tourism destination, kind of like the smaller tunnel Naramata, and it’ll open up tons of access and make it more accessible for everyone.”
The tunnel is at the moment closed to the general public as it’s nonetheless an energetic development website.
More details about the mission, together with methods to donate or become involved, will be discovered on the Woodwackers 2.0 web site.
