2018 Banff, Yoho and Kootenay national parks Announcement Infrastructure Investments - Project Funding and Project Completion Grand total new funding investment*: $31.1 M

Banff, Yoho and Kootenay national parks

Banff, Yoho and Kootenay national parks are renowned for their dramatic mountain landscapes on both sides of the Continental Divide in Alberta and British Columbia. These national parks are part of the Canadian Rocky Mountains UNESCO World Heritage Site and administer eight of Canada’s national historic sites (NHS) including: Twin Falls Tea House NHS; Kicking Horse Pass NHS; Howse Pass NHS; Abbot Pass Refuge NHS; Skoki Ski Lodge NHS; Sulphur Mountain Cosmic Ray Station NHS; Banff Park Museum NHS; and, Cave and Basin NHS.

Project funding in Yoho, Kootenay and Banff national parks:

Project name: Haffner Creek Bridge Replacement
Location: Kootenay National Park
Estimated total: $6.5 M
Project description: This project is for the full replacement of the Haffner Creek Bridge located on Highway 93S, just south of the Marble Canyon day use area. Improved design will divert surface runoff away from the creek and provide better passage for wildlife.

Project name: Sinclair Canyon Bridge Rehabilitation Design and Structural Culvert Upgrades
Location: Kootenay National Park
Estimated total: $9.1 M
Project description: This project will replace or rehabilitate five culverts along a six kilometre stretch of highway, near the Radium Hot Pools, and rehabilitate the Rundle stone facing on the Iron Gates Tunnel on Highway 93S. It will also provide a rehabilitation design for the Sinclair Canyon Bridge. This work will help improve fish habitat and connectivity in Sinclair Creek.

Project name: Marble Canyon Structural Culvert Upgrade, Wardle Creek Bridge Rehabilitation, and Bridge Rehabilitation Designs
Location: Kootenay National Park
Estimated total: $10.1M
Project description: This project will replace a structural culvert on Highway 93S at Marble Canyon, which will help protect upstream populations of bull trout from invasive species, and facilitate future population connections for westslope cutthroat and bull trout. The project will also rehabilitate the Wardle Creek Bridge located on Highway 93S, south of the Wardle Creek day use area. It is currently in design phase with construction anticipated for 2020. Additionally, this project will provide rehabilitation design work for the Kootenay River bridge (located near Kootenay Crossing) and Vermilion River bridge (located near Kootenay Park Lodge).

Project name: Numa Falls Bridge and Rehabilitation of Numa Falls Day Use Area
Location: Kootenay National Park
Estimated total: $1 M
Project description: This project will replace the Numa Falls Bridge, install a new public restroom, upgrade the Numa Falls Day Use Area, and rehabilitate 500 metres of nearby trails.           

Project name: Replacement of Support Facility Heating and Ventilation
Location: Banff and Kootenay national parks
Estimated total: $3.8 M
Project description: This project will replace the HVAC (Heating and Ventilation and Air Conditioning) systems with more efficient technology at the following locations: Lake Louise Visitor Centre and Saddleback housing at Lake Louise in Banff National Park, and the McKay Garage and Operations Centre in Kootenay National Park. This work will address major components of all of these systems which are at the end, or nearing the end, of their rated life expectancies.

Project name: Skoki Ski Lodge National Historic Site Cabins Rehabilitation
Location: Banff National Park
Estimated total: $604 K
Project description: This project will conserve and rehabilitate the heritage character of four log cabins at Skoki Ski Lodge National Historic Site including: Wolverine; Raven; Riverside; and, the Old Bathhouse. These buildings are part of Skoki Ski Lodge National Historic Site and are examples of the architectural style, known as rustic design tradition, as well as being Cultural Resources of National Significance.

List of project completions in Yoho, Kootenay and Banff national parks:

Project name: TransCanada Highway – Twinning Phase IVA and Design Phase IVB
Location: Yoho National Park
Project description: As part of Budget 2016, the Government of Canada committed to upgrading a 6 km section of the Trans-Canada Highway (TCH) from two to four lanes in Yoho National Park (Phase IVA), as well as an impact assessment, and substantial twinning design for the remaining 40 km (Phase IVB) highway section in Yoho National Park.

Wildlife mitigations in the first 6 km (Phase IVA) include one wildlife overpass, three wildlife underpasses, and highway wildlife fencing. Additionally, a Remote Avalanche Control System (RACS) was installed on Mount Bosworth near the British Columbia/Alberta border to reduce the risk of avalanches impacting the highway.

Building on Parks Canada’s success on wildlife mitigations in Banff National Park, these measures provide world-class leadership to reduce highway-related wildlife mortality and restore safe movement between habitats for wildlife, while improving motorist safety and ensuring the flow of traffic and goods along Canada’s national transportation corridor. Construction on Phase IVA began in spring 2016 and will be completed in 2018.

Project name: Radium Hot Pools Structural Improvements and Mechanical Upgrades
Location: Kootenay National Park
Project description: This project focused on the mechanical and structural integrity of this classified federal heritage building. Work on the Radium Hot Springs aquacourt facility and café included: rehabilitating heating, plumbing and electrical systems; replacing the rooftop deck and rehabilitating the elevators; and, structural repairs to stairs and walkways including replacing the historic entry bridge and pedestrian access ramp. As part of this project, the facility has moved to geothermal energy for greater energy efficiency. Replacement of these outdated systems and the structural repairs will reflect new building codes, provide more efficient operations, and improve the safety and comfort for visitors. The project began in 2016 and will be complete in 2018.

Project name: Silverhorn Creek Campground
Location: Banff National Park
Project description: This project redesigned Silverhorn Creek - previously an overflow camping area - into an RV-friendly campground offering 45 new sites on the Icefields Parkway. This project will be complete for the 2018 summer camping season.

Project name: Protection Mountain Campground
Location: Banff National Park
Project description: This project re-establishes Protection Mountain Campground with 72 new sites for both tents and mid-sized RVs, in a meadow-style campground with a 360-degree view of the scenic Bow Valley Parkway. This project was completed in 2017.

Project name: Bow Valley Parkway – Morant’s Curve
Location: Banff National Park
Project description: The westernmost portion of the Bow Valley Parkway Scenic Drive will reopen this summer after replacement of the retaining wall and a structural culvert. This work will improve safety at the popular Morant’s Curve viewpoint. This project will be completed in July 2018.

Project name: Trans-Canada Highway – Ottertail River and Kicking Horse River Bridges Rehabilitation Design
Location: Yoho National Park
Project description: This project will rehabilitate the bridge over the Ottertail River and provides preliminary design work for the replacement of the Kicking Horse River bridge. Work will be completed in 2018.

* Please note that the sum of individual project values may not equal the grand total indicated at the top of this document due to standard rounding errors.

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