The Dicken Road Detour planned for 2027 is moving ahead, and the Dicken Road Safety Committee is calling on Fernie residents to take action now and ask the Province to reconsider diverting Highway 3 traffic through a residential and business corridor.
According to the committee’s new Hartley Creek Bridge Detour website, BC Minister of Transportation and Transit Mike Farnworth confirmed in a July 29 letter that the Ministry intends to proceed with the Dicken Road detour despite opposition from the City of Fernie, Regional District of East Kootenay, local MLA Pete Davis and residents.
The Hartley Creek Bridge project has now been pushed into 2027. The Ministry’s May project update says detour preparation is planned for fall 2026, with construction of the new Highway 3 bridge beginning in spring 2027.
The RDEK Board has formally asked the Ministry to consider an alternative route, citing what its resolution described as “unacceptable safety and traffic congestion impacts.” Fernie City Council has also formally opposed using Dicken Road as the Highway 3 detour.
Concerns over traffic at the Highway 3/Dicken Road intersection have also surfaced separately in RDEK planning. The Hosmer Fire Hall Advisory Group report identified potential delays for firefighters travelling in personal vehicles because of Dicken Road and Highway 3 intersection congestion when evaluating a possible fire hall location in the area.
The Dicken Road Safety Committee is asking the Province instead to construct a temporary bypass at the Hartley Creek project, keeping Highway 3 traffic within the highway corridor and preserving Dicken Road as an alternate local and emergency route.
The Ministry has taken a different position. Its traffic analysis concluded Dicken Road can accommodate peak summer Highway 3 traffic with appropriate controls. Planned measures include shoulder improvements, a 50 km/h speed zone, additional signage, traffic controls and increased enforcement. The Ministry says a temporary Highway 3 bypass was considered but not recommended because of environmental, private-property and other technical considerations.
Residents who want the Province to reconsider the Dicken Road Detour can now take action through HartleyCreekDetour.ca.
The site makes it easy to:
• Sign the petition calling on the Province to halt the Dicken Road detour and reconsider a Highway 3 bypass.
• Email decision-makers, including Transportation Minister Mike Farnworth, Deputy Minister Heather Wood and regional Ministry officials. Farnworth can be contacted directly at TT.Minister@gov.bc.ca
• Share the campaign with other Fernie and Elk Valley residents, businesses and Highway 3 users.
The site currently reports more than 1,200 signatures supporting its campaign.
For residents concerned about the plan, signing the petition is one step. Sending a direct email to provincial decision-makers may be even more important.
Visit HartleyCreekDetour.ca to learn more, sign the petition and send your message.
