Image: City of Chilliwack /

By Mike Vanden Bosch

Prest Road reopening delayed

Update: Prest Road construction delayed due to discovery of 3,500 fish: Mayor Popove

Sep 12, 2024 | 10:34 AM

UPDATE FRIDAY AT 10:30 A.M.: Mayor Popove has since clarified that of the 3,500 fish that were discovered, two were Salish Suckers, while the remaining fish included cut throats, trout and a multitude of other fish.

A Chilliwack-area First Nations educator, Rick Joe, says a waterway in the construction area has always been a spawning channel.

Original story below: 

CHILLIWACK — Chilliwack Mayor Ken Popove says the reopening of Prest Road between Bailey Road and McGuire Road has been delayed after the discovery of roughly 3,500 fish.

Mayor Popove told 89.5 JR Country Morning show host Glen Slingerland Thursday (Sept. 12) that construction delays on a culvert crossing are due to the Salish Sucker, which has been listed as endangered under the auspices of the federal Species at Risk Act. Prest Road had been projected to reopen on September 12, but that’s been set aside.

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“The work is proceeding. The delay is a Salish sucker,” Mayor Popove said on 89.5 JR Country. “That’s what they found. They actually found 3,500 fish. They could be the size of minnows or whatever. That’s what they have to do environmentally to keep them safe, obviously. What actually slowed it down was the Salish sucker because then you got to get the environmental guy out there. He’s got to come out and confirm that yeah, that’s a Salish Sucker. We got to do this, that and the other, so that’s added time.”

The City of Chilliwack says the the culvert crossing interception ditch on Prest Road needed to be replaced due to aging conditions and to accommodate the future Prest Road widening.

It’s estimated that Prest Road between Bailey and McGuire could reopen next Friday, September 20.

“We apologize for the inconvenience the extended closure may cause and thank you for your patience,” the City of Chilliwack wrote on Facebook earlier this week.

Mayor Popove said traffic flaggers have been added to the corner of Bailey Road and Chilliwack River Road to alleviate some of the traffic congestion.

“Sorry, this work has to be done. It has to be done now through the fish window,” Popove told Slingerland during their “Ask the Mayor” segment. “It’s amazing they found 3,500 fish. It may get done a bit sooner than projected. This work needed to be done at this time. When we widen that last chunk from McGuire to Bailey, it won’t be full closures. I promise you that.”