The city’s largest roadwork project will be under way in less than two weeks.
Construction to build four traffic lanes on 128th Avenue will begin in June, but won’t interrupt drivers during their morning and afternoon commutes.
The tender has been given to King Hoe excavating for $8.8 million.
For that, the city gets two lanes of traffic in both directions, street lighting, and a three-metre wide multi-use pathway for cyclists, pedestrians and other non-vehicle traffic on the north section of the roadway.
The route will ultimately be four-laned all the way from 210th to 224th streets. However, the first phase being completed this summer will widen the road only between 210th – which is the approach to the Golden Ears Bridge – and 216th streets.
It is a distance of 1.5 km.
Widening from 216th to 224th streets will be completed during Phase 2 in summer 2016, on a new tender.
There has been considerable work and traffic disruption on 128th Avenue, but that is to install a water main – work being done by Metro Vancouver.
For the city’s roadwork traffic will be maintained in both directions, and by contract the lanes cannot be blocked from 6-9 a.m. and 3-6 p.m. on weekdays.
“We recognize that it’s a very important linkage,” said municipal engineer Dave Pollock.
At other times of day, there will be a single lane for alternating traffic.
Also, there will be a five-day full closure of the route in the middle of July. It will be necessary, to install large culverts at the intersection of 216th St. and 128th Ave.
The project’s first phase should be completed by November.
Pollock agreed it is an expensive stretch of road, and the price was inflated by the need for drainage along the route.
However, he said $8.8 million is actually lower than the pre-tender estimate for the job, and said King Hoe came in with a competitive price.
“It’s not an inconsequential piece of work,” he said.
The second phase of the project, next summer, will involve less drainage work and be less costly, Pollock added.