Photo: Tamara Norton

Sections of Trinity Valley Road are in need of serious repair.

UPDATE 10:43 a.m.

Some work is being done on Trinity Valley Road today, but residents say it is merely a temporary solution to a much bigger problem.

Tamara Norton said there are currently two graders working on the Lumby side of Trinity Valley Road, but “grading only lasts for about a week before the logging trucks chew it up again.”

Norton said there are also sections of the paved road that are crumbling, adding some areas of the road on the Enderby side have been washed out on occasion forcing people to drive through Vernon to get to Enderby.

It's a busy road used by logging trucks, school buses and local residents.

And it is also crumbling – literally.

Trinity Valley Road near Lumby serves several hundred people, but the dirt road is in rough shape and that has residents concerned.

Tamara Norton said the road has large potholes and sections that are literally falling apart and she said it is becoming a safety issue.

Norton said it is a secondary road between Lumby and Enderby, but there are several arterial roads that serve many residents.

“I have been in contact with the Ministry (of Transportation and Infrastructure) for two years asking for some suitable resurfacing,” said Norton. “The road has been gradually deteriorating to the point it is unsafe. Some vehicles choose to drive on the wrong side of the road to avoid potholes. It is also a school bus route.”
In December 2018, Norton was told by the MoTI they were aware of the problem and Trinity Valley Road was “the No. 1 priority in the Lumby area.”

“It is a very busy road,” she said, adding she contacted MLA Eric Foster's office about he situation but has not heard back.

“There are not just pot holes, but the road is literally breaking up. You are driving from one side of the road to the other to avoid the eruptions,” said Norton, adding one person became stuck “in a mud bog” in the middle of the road.

Some temporary repairs to the section of road at the 10 km mark were done, but Norton said “you can only drive on one side of the road on that section.”

Castanet contacted the MoTI and was told the provincial ministry would respond on Tuesday.