City of Maple Ridge issues closure on 112 Avenue west of 280th Street for repairs

When a Maple Ridge woman was driving her son to school Tuesday morning she came across a closure on 112 Avenue, West of 280 Street and was told had any more vehicles passed the road, it could’ve collapsed.

A notification of the closure was updated on the city’s website.

“From Tuesday, November 23 to Friday, November 26, there will be a 24/7 full road closure on 112 Avenue west of 280 Street. The City will be completing emergency work from a culvert slope failure. Please follow all traffic signs and flaggers as directed around work crews in the work zone. Thank you for your patience,” reads the closure notification.

Later, Michelle Kennedy, a Whonnock resident, told The News about the closure and how dangerous it was.

“I was driving my son to school this morning and the road was blocked off, I stopped and rolled down my window and one of the workers walked over, she said the road was closed and it was an emergency situation. And said that if one more car drove over it could collapse,” she said.

When asked about the extent of damage to the road, city’s communications manager Fred Armstrong said, “The road surface itself was not damaged, the culvert overflowed and there was some erosion of the shoulder of the roadway due to the extreme rainfall event last weekend. That erosion resulted in two concrete roadside barriers sliding falling into the creek. The site was inspected by a geotechnical engineer and their recommendations have been followed for the repairs to the shoulder and the re-installation of the concrete barriers.”

He also said that the road closure helped the crews get this work done quickly with maximum safety to the contractors.

“The culvert has been cleared of all debris and the shoulder is fully repaired restoring the road to normal function. We appreciate the patience of the neighbourhood as we made these repairs,” he said.

A notice of when the road is open again, will be posted on the city’s website.

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