It’s a well-known part of Canadian history and an important transportation corridor but what does the future hold for Rogers Pass in Glacier National Park? Parks Canada is planning some big changes and is seeking public input to help decide what’s next.
If you’ve been behind the wheel of one of the millions of vehicles that pass through Rogers Pass each year, you may have wondered what’s going on with the boarded up hotel at the national historic site.
The short answer is that both the hotel and a derelict service station are going to be torn down.
“Neither of them are in a condition that they can be rehabilitated,” said Nick Irving, superintendent of Glacier National Park.
They were built in the 1960s and the years have not all been kind. The service station closed in 2009, and then in 2012, Irving said the hotel stopped operating “quite suddenly.”
According to Irving, after the private businesses closed, there was no upkeep done.
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On top of that, the heavy snowfall in the area, break-ins and animals have all been hard on the buildings.
After Parks Canada took on responsibility for the structures in 2016, it decided there was no choice but to scrap them.
“There is mixed emotions of course, people have had some really really cherished experiences staying here,” said Irving.
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The demolitions will be the latest change in an area that has held an important significance in Canadian history.
“Rogers Pass was the first route for the Canadian Pacific Railway through the Selkirk Mountains,” explained Cathy English, the curator for Revelstoke Museum and Archives.
“Putting a railway line through these mountains, especially back in the 1880s, it was really an incredible feat of engineering.”
In the early 1960s, Rogers Pass was the last part of the Trans-Canada Highway to be finished.
“It really opened up this area in a huge way so it was very significant for the community,” said English.
Now, more change is coming, and Parks Canada wants visitors to weigh in on their vision for the future of Rogers Pass.
You can share your opinion at the visitors centre at Rogers Pass, online or at the Parks Canada office in Revelstoke.
What is already in the works is a 24-hour washroom that will be built on the site of the former gas station.
Expect that pit stop to be ready for your road trips in the summer of 2019.
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