First Ride: Todd Creek Trestle

Last weekend we headed out to kilometre 47 of the Galloping Goose Regional Trail to check out the newly reopened Todd Creek Trestle. Closed in 2017 due to structural issues, the CRD has spent the last two years extensively rebuilding this trestle.

The Todd Creek Trestle was built in 1917/1918 for the then railway and remains a wooden trestle to this day. CN only upgraded trestles if they were economically worth it, which Todd Creek clearly wasn’t. It is a huge trestle, which the CRD described when it announced the revitalization project as:

… 4-storey wooden Todd Creek Trestle will undergo a $1.5 million restoration which will include replacing timbers, foundation, support posts, stringers, braces, deck planks and guard rails.

When the CRD talked about replacing parts of the trestle, they were not kidding. Looking at the under structure, very few original timbers remain and whole uprights are completely new wood. Even the footings are new, sitting on plastic and lots of new gravel.

Overall, we’re happy to see the trestle reopen and the continuous ride to the Sooke Potholes and Leechtown restored. But we also know that there are other trestles that may require maintenance soon, so we will keep working to ensure the CRD has funded the regional trails to keep a trestle from closing for near four years again.