Preparation begins for LRT project
Preliminary work before main construction projected by city to cost approximately $20 million
An unassuming bridge, an underground water main and storm sewer, and several overhead transmission lines are expected to be among the earliest casualties or displacements of a planned light rail system in Surrey. The existing assets along King George Boulevard and along or near 104th Avenue are due to be dug up, replaced, moved or raised next year in advance of the main thrust of work on a light rail line from Guildford to Newton that could begin as early as mid-2019.
Scott Neuman, an LRT project director with the City of Surrey, said the preparatory work is being done, in part, to save time, and despite the work taking months to complete, it should not inconvenience most commuters.
“These are projects that would be required to support LRT. If we can get on them sooner and have them built first then it expedites the schedule,” Neuman said.
Construction along King George Blvd. is expected to take about 10 months, but travel lanes should remain open through the work, Neuman said. “At night time during construction there may be lane constraints. It might be one lane each way. But during peak hour traffic we’re trying to maintain two lanes each way,” he said.
The projects come in advance of Phase 1 of the light rail project, a 10.5-kilometre, 11-stop Surrey — Newton — Guildford line that will run west from 152nd Street in Guildford along 104 Avenue to City Parkway, south to 102 Avenue, east to King George Boulevard, and south to a terminus near 71 Avenue and 136b Street, according to the city.
Bear Creek Bridge — a piece of 1930s infrastructure on King George Blvd. so small that it may go unnoticed by even the most mindful daily commuter — is simply too narrow and weak to take on the size and weight of the planned line, according to the city, that last week issued a tender for its replacement.
The project will include “detours, demolition and disposal off-site of the existing bridge, installation of piles and ground improvements, new abutments and girders, concrete decking, road widening, sanitary sewer and water relocations, erosion and sediment control, fish salvage, channel improvements in Bear Creek, topsoil, hydroseeding, (and) planting,” according to the tender.
Separately, a water main and trunk storm sewer will be moved from under the planned route of the LRT lines on 104th Ave. and a trio of high voltage lines will be raised. Meanwhile, TransLink plans to build new transit exchanges in Guildford and Newton, Neuman said. The loss of trees is not expected to be significant and any chopped trees will be replaced two-to-one, he said.
The preliminary work, excluding the hydro line projects, is projected by the city to cost about $20 million.
Private property takes are likely to be necessary for Phase 1 to proceed, but planners have yet to begin a “full door-to-door knocking” with the impacted property owners, Neuman said.
Phase two of the LRT project is a 16-kilometre, eight-stop line from Surrey to Langley Centre via Fleetwood, Clayton, and the Township of Langley.
A public consultation period closed earlier this month and the next chance for community input on the plans is early 2018, according to the city. That will be the third round of consultations, Neuman said.