The Thompson-Nicola Regional District says it has issued 20 building permits for Trans Mountain work camps near Kamloops.
Chief building inspector Pat Luscombe talked about the largest work camp the Crown corporation will be building.
“That’s going to be located within the District of Clearwater, we have just received an application for that. It’s a substantial sized camp, I believe it’s going to have close to 40 modular living units and a dining hall and office facilities.”
Trans Mountain says it’s started building work camps in Valemount and Clearwater ahead of its pipeline expansion project. It will build three other work camps in Blue River, Merritt and Hope.
There will be no work camp in Kamloops, as workers are expected to be housed in a mix of hotel rooms, rental units and RV sites. The corporation has had to adjust its housing plan in Kamloops because of COVID-19.
“For example, we recently worked with the Kamloops Accommodation Association to amend our worker accommodation strategy in Kamloops to focus on commercial accommodation that was more readily available due to a downturn in tourism,” spokesperson Ali Hounsell says.
Only 20-30 workers will be staying in local hotels, and Trans Mountain says each hotel will have a dedicated screening room to do daily temperature checks on workers for COVID-19.
Pipeline construction through the North Thompson is expected to begin later in the summer.
(Photo: Trans Mountain)