Built in the early twentieth century, the Kettle Valley Railway (KVR), was a subsidiary of the CPR, the intention of which was to ensure a Canadian railroad presence in the Boundary Country and the South Okanagan. This Steel girder bridge was part of the first section of rail built by the KVR, known as the Carmi Subdivision, with construction beginning in 1910.
Declining use caused the elimination of passenger service on the KVR in 1964. Eight years later this, the Carmi Subdivision, was shut down, with the tracks being torn up sometime later. By 1989 the entire Kettle Valley Railway was abandoned and the tracks removed. In the 1990s work was begun on the construction of the
Kettle Valley Rail Trail (KVRT), which encompasses essentially the entire KVR railbed, from Midway, BC to Hope.
Today the KVRT passes over this bridge, which is one of several access points for the trail in the City of Penticton. The major sponsor for the construction of the section of trail on which the bridge is located was the Rotary Club of Penticton-Okanagan. A bronze plaque honouring the sponsors has been mounted at the west end of the bridge. It is on a large wing wall surrounded with
red brick pavers containing the names of about 150 individual donors to the project. Text from said plaque can be found below.
Major sections of the KVRT have since been incorporated into the
Trans Canada Trail, including this section and this bridge.
From Rails to Trails
This pathway was originally the site of the Kettle Valley Railway which brought the first passenger train to Penticton in 1915. The KVR provided a vital transportation link for South Okanagan orchardists and ranchers. Evidently, it played a key role in the historical development of the Penticton area.
After 70 years of service, operation of the KVR was discontinued due to newer modes of transportation. The last train left Penticton in 1989.
In 1994, this section of railway between Vancouver Ave. and Calgary Ave. was upgraded and paved. Funding for the pathway project was provided by the Rotary Club of Penticton-Okanagan, the City of Penticton and many local, private and corporate citizens.
From the Rotary plaque at the bridge
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