(KLAHOWYA VILLAGE) Sometimes, a quick response to a long-time challenge is the smart thing to do.

So the partners working to preserve and restore the 1926 Alexandra Bridge have come up with a high-tech tool to help drum up support to save the historic structure in the Fraser Canyon.

The Spuzzum First Nation and other Alexandra Bridge Project partners will unveil a Quick Response (QR) code that allows anyone with a smart phone, tablet or other mobile device to sign the petition to save this icon of B.C. transportation and cultural history. Chilliwack-Hope MLA Laurie Throness has promised to personally deliver the petition to the BC Legislature.

The event at Klahowya Village on August 28 is the result of a partnership between Aboriginal Tourism BC, the Spuzzum First Nation (SFN), ConnectMediaTE.AM, the New Pathways to Gold Society and other project supporters.

“The Alexandra Bridge was built at a traditional crossing of the Fraser River and as such, it’s the tip of a cultural iceberg dating back 10,000 years,” said Keith Henry, CEO of Aboriginal Tourism BC.

“We’re delighted to host this event in support of the Spuzzum First Nation’s efforts to preserve this historic bridge in their traditional territory.”

The QR code was developed by Riley Forman of ConnectMediaTE.AM and is available on the travelthecanyon.com and New Pathways to Gold Society websites. The code and background information of the Alexandra Bridge Project will be available at a display in the Klahowya Village Artisan’s Village.

The Alexandra Bridge Project is dedicated to making a rejuvenated bridge a legacy project for the Canada150 celebrations. The structure is the highways equivalent of the Last Spike, having helped knit B.C. and Canada together.

The heart of Alexandra Bridge Provincial Park, the 1926 bridge requires repairs to be restored as a major heritage tourism attraction. The Alexandra Bridge Project partners are working with BC Parks and the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure among others to achieve this goal.

The SFN is one of the lead organizations in the Alexandra Bridge Project, a coalition of government, community and corporate groups with the common goal of making the preservation of the bridge a legacy project for the Canada150 celebrations in 2017.

“The Alexandra Bridge is an icon of Canadian transportation and cultural history,” said SFN Chief Hobart.

“The bridge site is layered deep with history – 10 millennia of First Nations’ history, the fur trade, Gold Rush and the building of the railways. It’s something worth preserving.”

The Spuzzum First Nation is an active and growing community in the heart of the historic Fraser Canyon. A member of the Nlaka’pamux Nation Tribal Council, its offices are near the Alexandra Bridge and about 16 kilometers north of Yale.

Klahowya Village is an authentic Aboriginal cultural experience staged annually in Stanley Park by Aboriginal people from across British Columbia. The word “Klahowya” means welcome.