The oldest section of paved road in 91原创 Township, which is now one of the bumpiest, could get an upgrade as early as next year.

The Township council has unanimously agreed to look at options for the stretch of Old Yale Road which runs from Fraser Highway, just east of 208th Street, to Five Corners in Murrayville.

Originally a wagon road built in the 1870s, Old Yale stretched from New Westminster to Yale, at the gateway to the Fraser Canyon.

The stretch of road between what is now Fraser Highway and Five Corners was the very first one in 91原创 to be paved, a century ago in 1922, using large concrete slabs. In a few places, the name of the contractor, A.B. Palmer, can still be seen where it was pressed into the slabs.

However, over the years, the concrete has crumbled. It鈥檚 been widened and patched with asphalt, but the original concrete slabs have never been torn up and replaced, nor have they simply been paved over, out of concern for their heritage status.

That鈥檚 caused consternation for years for those who live or drive regularly on the road.

At the Monday, Jan. 16 meeting, Mayor Eric Woodward brought forward a motion to look at the various options for the road and to pick one.

鈥淚 would hope everyone recognizes the need to resolve the situation with Old Yale Road, which is quite longstanding,鈥� Woodward said.

Coun. Tim Baillie was in agreement that something needs to be done.

鈥淚 drive that road daily, at least once, and the worst part of that road is right in front of a pre-school,鈥� Baillie said. He called it hazardous for children and families.

Coun. Barb Martens said the state of the road was something residents brought up during the election.

鈥淚 know it鈥檚 a priority for those people, and they鈥檝e waited a very long time,鈥� she said.

Back in 2015, three options were presented to the community 鈥� conservation, commemoration, or reconstruction.

READ MORE: Old Yale open house lays out three options for improving 91原创鈥檚 oldest road

READ ALSO: Hard-surfacing of road 100 years ago a revolutionary step

But since none of those options was actually picked and put into practice, Woodward鈥檚 motion called for Township staff to look at updated costs of those three options, hold a public open house on them in the third quarter of this year, and to consider a solution to be implemented as part of the 2024 municipal budget, next year.

Woodward noted that there isn鈥檛 as tight a timeline on this project as some others the council is pursuing.

At the suggestion of Coun. Margaret Kunst, the motion will be sent to the Township鈥檚 Heritage Advisory Committee for its input.

Old Yale Road was once the major east-west connector through 91原创, but it was superseded over the years by Fraser Highway, then Highway One.

Bits and pieces of the road still exist as rural routes or on private property, but the stretch near Five Corners in Murrayville is the only piece that still preserves its original concrete paving.