1. What is the Trans Canada Trail?

The Trans Canada Trail is the world's longest network of trails. When completed, the Trail will stretch 22,000 kilometres from the Atlantic to the Pacific to the Arctic oceans, linking 1000 communities and 33 million Canadians. To date, more than 15,500 kilometres of Trail have been developed. Millions of Canadians and international visitors are using the Trail to hike, cycle, ski, horseback ride, canoe and snowmobile. With over 400 unique trail sections, the Trans Canada Trail offers countless opportunities to explore Canada's diverse landscapes and rich history. Once rehabilitated, the Kinsol Trestle, which is part of the 120-kilometre Cowichan Valley Trail, will be part of that national link.

The Cowichan Valley Trail runs from south of Shawnigan Lake, across the Koksilah River at the Kinsol Trestle, along the Cowichan River corridor to Lake Cowichan. It then follows rail lines, both abandoned and actively used, to the boundary of the Regional District north of Ladysmith.

The Cowichan Valley Trail is one of three trails that will eventually form the southern Vancouver Island portion of the Trans Canada Trail. To the south, it will connect with the Galloping Goose Trail, which runs through the greater Victoria Area. To the north, it will link with the trail which runs from north of Ladysmith through to Nanaimo.

2. What is the total project budget for the Kinsol Trestle project?

We are working towards a project budget of $7.5 million for the Kinsol Trestle rehabilitation project. That number covers the base project cost of $6.5 million, which is the minimum amount required to bring the Kinsol Trestle up to a safe standard. The additional funds will support the completion of more extensive rehabilitation work throughout the historic trestle upfront, which otherwise would still need to be completed over the next several years through annual taxpayer supported funding commitments from the CVRD.

3.  Where will the money come from

Funding for the rehabilitation project has come from the federal provincial infrastructure programs. The local community's target fundraising goal is $2 million. To date, approximately $1.1 million of that has been raised.

4. Does the federal and provincial money come with any strings attached?

The $3.77 million ($1.885 million each) from the federal and provincial governments is for infrastructure improvements. The money is earmarked for the rehabilitation of the Kinsol Trestle and that is the purpose for which it will be used.

5. When will construction actually begin and when will it be complete?

Construction began on June 28, 2010, with the anticipated opening date for the Trestle and the Trail in the late spring of 2011. Substantial completion must by achieved by March 2011, as per the rules around the federal and provincial infrastructure funding.

6. Why rehabilitate it? Why not just tear it down and put up something else?

The future of the Trestle has been debated since the last train crossed it in 1979. The CVRD commissioned a series of studies over the past few years, listened to what the community wanted and worked with the BC Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure. The most recent study in 2008 brought together a team of timber construction experts, structural engineers, quantity surveyors and an environmental consultant. They proposed a rehabilitation option that met many of the CVRD’s objectives for increasing recreation, tourism and economic opportunities. That plan was adopted and is now being implemented.

7. What are the economic benefits of rehabilitating the Trestle? Will it help the logging/forestry industry get back on its feet?

The sad reality is that the changes in the fishing and forestry industries that we’ve seen in the past decade are continuing. We all need to get behind efforts to diversify our economy, and investing in the Kinsol Trestle rehabilitation is a positive way to invest in our tourism inventory and industry. Over 114,000 tourists visit the Cowichan Valley each year and the Regional Economic Analysis study done in February, 2009  indicates further growth potential in outdoor/adventure, education, culinary and cultural tourism for the Island and the Valley. For example, bike tour companies that currently bus tourists into Cowichan from Victoria will be able to start a bike tour in Victoria, cycle into and throughout the Cowichan Valley, stay at B&B’s for several days, and bike back to Victoria.

The revitalization of the Kettle Valley Railroad trail, which winds through south-central B.C., is a good example of the kind of local economic benefits that flow to a community from such a project. In the Kettle Valley, rebuilding the trestles that were burned in 2003 along the railroad right-of-way has ensured the retention of this area as an important link in the Trans Canada Trail and as a source of tourism and service industry dollars. Similar benefits are projected for the Cowichan Valley following the opening of the rehabilitated Kinsol Trestle. 

8. How many people will be put to work during the rehabilitation?

The original estimates for the core work to rehabilitate the Trestle indicate job creation estimated at 59 jobs, including 30 direct construction jobs, 20 indirect jobs in manufacturing and support, and nine in engineering and project management. With the increase in available funding and a larger project budget, the job creation numbers will be higher. Once rehabilitation is complete, there will be additional economic spinoffs that will come from completing that portion of the Trans Canada Trail (and eliminating the existing lengthy detour) such as increased tourism activity. Those benefits will continue long after the rehabilitation is complete.

9. What do you mean by “in-kind” donations?

A number of companies have offered to supply the rehabilitation project with materials and/or labour as their donation.

10. What will the rehabilitation work do? What will people see when they visit?

The rehabilitation work will replace unsound timbers, reinforce eight structural trestle bents and build a new 614-foot pathway for hikers, runners, bicyclists and horseback riders. All rehabilitation will ensure that the historic characteristics, including the span height and timbered design qualities of this wonderful structure, are preserved as the original timbers are replaced, where necessary.

In addition, the project includes:

• landscaping improvements on both ends of the Trestle;
• a walkway into the Koksilah River canyon from which the true visual impact and significance of the Trestle can be appreciated; and,
• an information kiosk that will display the history of the Trestle and that recognize the donors who give to the Campaign, allowing the Trestle to be rehabilitated.

11. Who is leading this campaign?

The Cowichan Foundation is running the Kinsol Trestle Capital Campaign in conjunction with the Cowichan Valley Regional District (CVRD) and Community Futures Cowichan, which is providing administrative help and a physical location for the campaign office.

12. Why is the Cowichan Foundation leading this campaign?

The Cowichan Foundation has a long history of raising money and supporting Cowichan residents through bursaries and scholarships. Directors of the Cowichan Foundation are all local citizens who are well attuned to the needs of the Cowichan Valley community.

13. If the province actually owns the Trestle, why should the community put all this money into the project and not actually control it after it is completed?

The Province has owned the Trestle since 1984, when it was given over by the railway. As part of the rehabilitation project, the CVRD has started the process of taking over responsibility from the Province, which will be fully transferred once the rehabilitation has been completed. Similar stewardship arrangements are already in existence for segments of the Cowichan/Trans Canada Trail on both sides of the Kinsol Trestle.

14. Will trains be able to run on the Trestle again once it’s rehabilitated?

No. The Kinsol Trestle will be part of the Trans Canada Trail and will offer a world-class recreation experience for local residents and visitors from around the world. Visitors will be able to walk, run, bike or ride their horses across the restored Trestle and along the 120-kilometre Cowichan Valley Trail. Seven smaller trestles along the Cowichan Valley Trail route between Kinsol and Lake Cowichan have already been rehabilitated.

15. What role are your partners playing – the CVRD and Community Futures Cowichan?

Community Futures Cowichan is supporting the campaign by providing administrative support and by hosting the campaign office at 135 Third Street in Duncan. The Cowichan Valley Regional District is supplying technical expertise and is helping to fund the fundraising campaign costs. The CVRD will undertake the rehabilitation work on a contracted basis and will ultimately be responsible for maintaining the Kinsol Trestle when construction has been completed and responsibility has been transferred to the CVRD from the province.

(updated July 30_10)