A B.C. Supreme Court judge has told protesters at Eagleridge Bluffs near Horseshoe Bay in West Vancouver to end their blockade, which has held up construction of a section of the Sea to Sky Highway.

The Coalition to Save Eagleridge Bluffs set up a protest camp last month to stop crews from beginning construction through the area of multimillion-dollar homes.

The contractor issued a warning to the protesters last month. (CBC)
The contractor issued a warning to the protesters last month. (CBC)

Kiewit Construction then applied for an injunction to force the protesters out of the area where the work is supposed to begin – which the judge has granted.

Justice William Grist also rejected the protesters' bid for an injunction to halt the construction while their environmental arguments are heard by the courts.

The group claimed that the Eagleridge project was illegal because the proper environmental approval process had not been followed.

The residents of the area and their supporters want the provincial government to build a tunnel instead of cutting a road through a sensitive wetland.

Dennis Perry, the head of the coalition, said Monday's ruling is a setback, but says the fight is far from over.

"We have instructed our lawyers to file an appeal. It is not a ruling on the environment, thank God. It's a ruling on two injunction applications, and we have lost it. So we have lost this little battle. We certainly haven't lost the war."

Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon said the coalition has been afforded every possible opportunity to air its complaints, but lost each time. The minister said the protesters should now obey the law, or deal with the consequences.

"They have chewed up an enormous amount of court time. They have chewed up an enormous amount of dollars for the contractor involved and what they need to do now is obey the law and allow the contractor to get on with doing the job."

The contentious highway construction project is part of the upgrade of the Sea to Sky Highway to Whistler for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.