Editor’s note: The following letter was submitted by the Dicken Road Safety Committee.
The controversial Dicken Road detour in Fernie has been delayed, shifting the main construction timeline to spring 2027.
The BC Ministry of Transportation and Transit initially planned to route Highway 3 traffic along the narrow residential road for six months beginning in May 2026 while replacing the Hartley Creek culvert on the Crowsnest Highway east of Fernie.
The proposed detour would send highway traffic, including thousands of heavy transport trucks, along a residential road containing three school bus stops, small businesses and more than 30 driveways.
While residents of Dicken Road would feel the effects of the proposed detour most acutely, we believe the impacts on Fernie, the Elk Valley and travel throughout southeastern British Columbia would also be significant.
Daily commuters, emergency response vehicles, summer recreational traffic and heavy transport could all face substantial delays compared with the use of a temporary bypass.
The lower-risk option of constructing a temporary bypass adjacent to the project site, as is done on many other highway construction projects, has been repeatedly dismissed by the Ministry. Reasons provided have included higher costs and the need for additional permits.
The Ministry continues to support the Dicken Road detour despite opposition from Kootenay-Rockies MLA Pete Davis, Fernie mayor and council, Regional District of East Kootenay Electoral Area A Director Thomas McDonald, local residents and concerned citizen groups.
The revised plan now schedules detour preparation for fall 2026, with the major crossing work expected to take place the following year.
On June 15, concerned residents met with Fernie councillors Kyle Hamilton and Harshan Ramadass, RDEK Director Thomas McDonald, MLA Pete Davis and Harman Bhangu, the BC Conservative MLA for Langley-Abbotsford and the Official Opposition critic for transportation and transit.
Davis reconfirmed his support for residents seeking a safer alternative and said work continues to address rural transportation needs and press the province for a bypass solution.
Bhangu also expressed concern about what he viewed as inadequate consultation and communication by the Ministry regarding the proposed residential detour.
The Ministry’s BC Traffic Management Manual for Work on Roadways and commonly used risk-analysis frameworks consider factors including public safety, community impacts, traffic congestion, emergency vehicle access and infrastructure.
In our view, directing highway-volume traffic through a residential road would increase the level of risk associated with each of those factors.
A May 25 project update sent to concerned residents by Ministry project consultant Joel Desaulniers states that the Ministry has heard directly from residents, the City of Fernie and regional partners about the importance of maintaining safe and reliable travel.
The update says safety remains the Ministry’s top priority and that it is committed to ongoing dialogue with the community.
However, the May 25 update also confirms that the Ministry intends to proceed with the Dicken Road detour.
The Ministry argues that money required for a temporary bypass would be better spent widening portions of the Dicken Road shoulders, removing vegetation and repainting road markings.
Residents have not been approached to explore whether private land could be used for a bypass or to ask whether they support the proposed changes to Dicken Road.
A majority of the Dicken Road residents represented by this committee oppose these proposed changes, which were neither requested nor welcomed.
Although many concerns and questions remain unanswered, those opposed to the detour hope the Ministry will use the revised timeline to reconsider the adjacent temporary highway bypass.
We believe a bypass would reduce delays for highway traffic, keep vehicles within a more controlled environment, reduce conflict points, limit emergency response delays and avoid introducing highway traffic beside school bus stops, residences and pedestrians on Dicken Road.
Dicken Road Safety Committee
