A key piece of Naramata, B.C.’s history has been closed to the public for more than 40 years, however, the Adra Tunnel is on track to reopening in the near future.
The Woodwackers 2.0 formed as group of community members from Penticton and Naramata to safely reopen the tunnel.
“We range in age from 80 to 20 and all different skill sets and experience have come together to provide volunteer hours, designing, engineering, and it’s been about two years in the process to get to where we are now,” said Woodwackers 2.0 member Terry Field.
“My grandparents grew up in Naramata, so I have a lot of history visiting them in Naramata and I had the opportunity to get involved so I put my hand up and the process has been amazing seeing the community come together.”
The Adra Tunnel is located along the KVR trail just above Naramata and runs about 490 metres long.
The horseshoe-shaped tunnel was originally excavated in 1914 as part of the development of the Kettle Valley Railway. Rail operations stopped in the 1970s while the rail bed was bought by the provincial government in 1990.
“I think it’s huge, it’s got so much history — and it it’s a semicircle design so they had two crews that were working at both ends of the tunnel and they had to meet in the middle, which is a huge engineering feat to this day,” said Field.
“The Woodwackers from there, they took it on themselves to try and reopen it and carry on that heritage and that history and I think it would mean a lot to everyone to see it reopened and be able to access it in their backyard.”
The 100-year-old tunnel was originally closed in the ’90s due to unstable conditions.
According to Field, the first Woodwackers group worked to reopen the tunnel decades ago. However, two fires were set inside the tunnel.
One of the fires, back in 2012, burned for nearly a week and destroyed the remaining timber supports, further deteriorating the stability.
“The original Woodwackers are community members from Naramata, and they took it upon themselves to maintain the trail amenities. So they would fix drainage, they built hiking trails and biking trails. They would place picnic tables and outhouses and also honor historical sites like the Adra Tunnel,” said Field.
“The Woodwackers, they safe-scaled and rock-bolted 100 meters into the tunnel and that’s as far as they got and we are trying to do the same.”
Engineers have since entered the tunnel for feasibility studies and to design a plan on how to safely open the tunnel.
Recently the group received a green light from the province to move ahead with the next phase of rock bolting but the Woodwackers have hit a speed bump.
“It’s interesting with this type of project. You don’t know until you progress throughout the tunnel until you explore more rock,” said Field.
“Right now, we’re at a phase where we’ve encountered a section that needs additional rock support, and we need more funding to get there. We’re trying to make it happen as soon as we can.”
Although the project was initiated by the Woodwackers, the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen (RDOS) is supporting the project.
“The RDOS is supporting them how they can. The Woodwackers have come forward just with what they need, sometimes it’s just conversations with the province and that kind of bridge where needed,” said RDOS Area E Director Adrienne Fedrigo.
“RDOS does have the authority over the KVR with a contract with (recreational) sites and trials, so they are just that, supporting reopening for them.”
Fedrigo went on to say that the tunnel played an important role in the community and is excited to see it reopen to the public.
“The KVR itself just has such a strong and long, rich history — reopening it and just that connecting piece through the KVR, kind of helps to reopen the full breadth and extent of what the KVR is,” said Fedrigo.
Meanwhile, the community group has no public funding and the work done so far is all thanks to volunteer hours and private donations.
“We teamed up with the RDOS and the Community Foundation, and we’ve been receiving funds privately in the community,” said Field.
“We’re very grateful for the donations that have come in. A lot of donations, equipment, and a lot of volunteer hours, running equipment and cleaning out the tunnel.”
There is no timeline at the moment as to when the tunnel will reopen.
However, once it is open, the public will be able to walk or bike through the piece of history.
“We have local architects designing the recreational site outside of the tunnel. There’ll be information signs in the area, washrooms, picnic tables and an area to park,” added Field.
“It’ll be its own tourism destination, kind of like the smaller tunnel Naramata, and it’ll open up tons of access and make it more accessible for everyone.”
The tunnel is currently closed to the public as it is still an active construction site.
More information about the project, along with ways to donate or get involved, can be found on the Woodwackers 2.0 website.