Summer road work to include new gas line

Summer is road work season in Vancouver with a major gas line upgrade planned for East 1st Avenue and 15 kilometres of road work around the city set to snarl traffic as the temperature rises.

Vancouver’s engineering manager Jerry Dobrovolny announced the city’s summer construction plans at a news conference Thursday, in addition to a FortisBC project to upgrade a 20-kilometre natural gas line between Vancouver and Coquitlam.

From late June to late August, East 1st Avenue will be closed from Clark Drive to Nanaimo Street. One lane in each direction will also be closed from Nanaimo to Boundary Road beginning later this month.

“Summer is a busy time for construction,” said Dobrovolny, adding “long days and good weather” should allow the road work to move quickly.

But that was little comfort to some business owners and residents near the affected section of East 1st.

“It’s going to be hard to get through,” said Skylar Stock, owner of Mintage vintage clothing boutique on Commercial Drive.

Summer is the busiest time at his store. “I think we’ll see a drop (in customers), but I’m hoping it’s not too bad,” he said.

Business owners plan to meet with FortisBC on April 18 to discuss possible compensation for the Commercial Drive area, said Patti Lombardo, owner of Lombardo’s Pizzeria & Ristorante.

Lombardo hopes loyal customers will continue to visit her restaurant, but it’s not clear how traffic along Commercial will be affected by the construction. She hopes the gas utility will put some money into the neighbourhood to help make up for the summer losses.

Further east, Vince Kumar said he hadn’t heard about the closure.

The worker at Little Semlin Daycare was concerned about how parents will drop off their children as many of the side roads near East 1st and Nanaimo are blocked as a traffic-calming measure.

Dobrovolny said the city will change rush-hour and bus-lane regulations along Broadway and Hastings, extending morning rush regulations by 30 minutes (7 a.m. to 10 a.m.) and extending afternoon rush regulations by one hour (3 p.m. to 7 p.m.). The changes will come into effect this spring and should be completed by July. Rush-hour regulations will also be updated along Georgia Street later this year.

The gas line construction will also cause congestion in Burnaby and Coquitlam, where lane closures are expected throughout the spring and summer on several major roads, including Broadway, Lougheed Highway and Como Lake Avenue.

“We know there will be congestion, so we appreciate commuters’ patience and encourage them to plan for extra time to reach their destinations,” said Douglas Stout, vice-president of external relations for FortisBC.

The gas line was built in 1958 and supplies 210,000 customers. The existing 20-inch line will be replaced by a 30-inch steel line.

Vancouver also plans to upgrade about 15 km of its street network, plus eight kilometres of water mains and five kilometres of sewer mains. Major City of Vancouver projects include:

West 10th Avenue water and street repairs, including rolling closures between MacDonald and Alma;

Fraser Street upgrades, including water, sewer and street;

Smithe Street upgrades, including water, sewer and street;

Quebec Street and 1st Avenue street improvements, including repairs and improved safety for pedestrians and cyclists.

The city also released a list of more than a dozen special events that will affect traffic, including the Vaisakhi Parade on April 14, The Vancouver Sun Run on April 22, and the Celebration of Light on July 28, Aug. 1 and 4.