A construction project in Coquitlam that’s slowed traffic along Lougheed Highway since the spring won’t wrap up for at least another six weeks.
On Tuesday, Dec. 19, the city’s public works department said the work to repair the Lougheed bridge deck has been bumped again until the end of January — weather depending.
It’s the second time that the project timeline has changed: In September, the city announced the Scott Creek Bridge project that started on May 8 would take another two months.
Chad Braley, Coquitlam’s manager of capital projects and inspections, told the Tri-City News that the latest delay comes after the contractor, Klondike Infrastructure Ltd., had problems securing a supplier for the specified concrete mix for the deck; there were also issues with procuring the required stainless steel rebar.
"We continue to monitor the traffic through the site to make sure there are no significant delays and are pushing the contractor to have the work completed as quickly as possible," Braley said.
For the past eight months, commuters along the busy route have been forced to file into a single lane for the rehabilitation work on the bridge, which is located south of the CP Rail overhead tracks and north of Dewdney Trunk Road.
Coquitlam and TransLink are spending $2.4 million to replace the concrete deck of the 48-year-old structure.
Signs are up on both sides of Lougheed to alert commuters about the disruption that has half the highway closed 24 hours a day.
