A US-based engineering firm has won a $17.6-million contract to do winter restoration work at the site of the Big Bar landslide on the Fraser River.

Federal Fisheries Minister Bernadette Jordan says Peter Kiewit and Sons will soon begin work that will aim to re-establish a fish passage through the section of the river, northwest of Kamloops.

She says the work to repair the slide area remains a ‘top priority’ for the Federal Government in British Columbia.

“I will also be making an important announcement on our next steps to secure the long-term sustainability of these key salmon runs, and for the communities who rely on the success of these stocks,” said Jordan in a statement, noting she will be in the area on Friday to meet with local First Nations who have been helping the government.

The slide is believed to have occurred in October or November of 2018, but was discovered in June 2019 and it created a five-metre waterfall that impeded millions of salmon as they tried to return to their spawning grounds.

Only about 250,000 salmon were able to make it up river last year, down from an early season estimate of nearly five million.

The province previously said that most winter construction work is expected to take place before the spring freshet in March, while water levels are expected to be at their lowest.

Back in December, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) said time was of the essence in restoring the river to avoid further impacts to salmon populations.