If you use Lougheed Highway (7) to get to work, shop or shuttle kids to games, you may want to think twice about using the route for the next six months.
Traffic along Highway 7 — just south of the Coquitlam Central transit hub and the CP Rail overpass — will be tied up until possibly October, according to the city.
On Monday (April 24), Jaime Boan, general manager of engineering and public works, spoke about the mega-project that’s due to start next month.
He said the city and TransLink are spending $2.4 million to replace the concrete deck of the 48-year-old Scott Creek Bridge.
Specifically, the infrastructure work will involve:
- deck resurfacing
- new parapet walls
- new railings
- new lane markings
- new concrete medians
Signs are now up on both sides of Lougheed to alert commuters about the upcoming disruption that will see half the highway closed 24 hours a day. Vehicles will be moved to a single lane in each direction during the entire project.
Boan said crews with Klondike Infrastructure will be replacing the bridge deck using jackhammers and, as a result, there won’t be nighttime construction because of the noise. A pathway along the bridge will also be updated.
City staff are also set to talk with Klondike to see if the company can expedite the project by working longer hours. It's estimated the construction will take four months; however, if the bridge is damaged, it will go until October.
The bridge is located 300 m from the closest traffic signal.
Boan advised commuters to find alternate routes, but he also warned home and business owners along Westwood Street, Mariner Way and Como Lake Avenue that those routes will also be impacted with diverting traffic.
"This is not an area with an easy detour," said Coun. Craig Hodge, who raised the Scott Creek Bridge topic at the council-in-committee meeting.
Boan also confirmed to Coun. Teri Towner that the current upgrades and paving on Mariner Way will be done before the bridge project starts.
Safety upgrades
Meanwhile, the city is also tackling another section of Lougheed this summer, from Pitt River Road to south of Colony Farm, for safety improvements:
- additional lane westbound (south of Colony Farm Road)
- new street lights
- new pavement markers
- new signs
- traffic signal upgrades
- asphalt repaving
Co-funded by TransLink, this work is expected to take three months but, unlike the Scott Creek Bridge replacement, it will take place at night.
As well, on the northern side of Lougheed, from Pinetree Way to Westwood Street, the city is installing a new multi-use pathway.
The westbound curb lane on Lougheed will be closed for construction and traffic detours will be in place at the Lougheed/Ponderosa intersection.
Jack Cewe Construction is expected to work on the new pathway until the late summer or fall; that job is also being paid in part by TransLink.
For more details about the Lougheed Highway construction projects, you're encouraged to call Coquitlam's city hot-line at 604-927-3515.
