A helicopter delicately delivered a more than 90 foot long pedestrian crossing into its new home at Benson Creek. (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Ian Holmes

big project

VIDEO: Chopper delivers hiking bridge to Benson Creek Falls Regional Park

Mar 12, 2021 | 5:29 AM

NANAIMO — Installing a bridge to properly connect Benson Creek Falls Regional Park (BCFRP) was anything but ordinary.

Thick stands of trees crowding a narrow gorge forced the Regional District of Nanaimo to rely on a large helicopter to fly the more than 90 foot long aluminum bridge to the steep ravine spanning Benson Creek.

The highly technical operation took place during ideal weather conditions on Thursday, March 11, under the watchful eye of RDN parks services manager Yann Gagnon.

“To see a big 30 metre bridge to be lowered down by a helicopter into a ravine is not something you see every day, I’m certainly proud of all of the team that worked on this file,” Gagnon told NanaimoNewsNOW on scene.

A chopper lifted up from a neighbouring gravel pit as crews attached a long cable to the pre-fabricated pedestrian bridge.

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The bridge replaces an infamous unauthorized log crossing near the Wiegles Rd. entrance to the park.

Gagnon said the new bridge combined with stairs and rails on both sides of the steep ravine will make BCFRP considerably more safe and accessible.

“We’re making something that was extremely advanced, it was like a triple diamond type trail to something that most people can access. The bridge is providing safe access to both sides of the park.”

The ravine section of the trail will be closed for roughly the next month as crews build the network of stairs, Gagnon said.

He stressed the bridge is not properly secured and isn’t safe to be used for the time being.

Gagnon said improved signage will continue to be established throughout the park in the weeks ahead.

He was joined by RDN board Chair Tyler Brown during an inspection of the newly installed bridge minutes after the chopper delivered it.

Brown said BCFRP is a high demand recreation destination requiring improved safety infrastructure.

“Anything we can do to improve the access so people can enjoy this area, fall in love with nature and fall in love with this area and respect it even more is excellent,” Brown said.

The RDN expects stairs and a viewing platform leading to nearby Ammonite Falls will be in place later this year.

An ever-rising number of people accessing Ammonite Falls highlighted safety concerns posed by a rope system transferring people down a steep embankment to the base of the falls.

A larger new parking lot, kiosk and trailhead on the Wiegles Rd. entrance to BCFRP opened in February.

BCFRP is an 80-acre forested regional park featuring a combination of flat and steep trails split in half by Benson Creek.

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ian@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @reporterholmes