However, this work is intended to be a test, which will provide additional information on in-river geotechnical conditions, underwater monitoring data, and construction methodologies.
The schedule for in-river construction is regulated by the federal government’s Fisheries and Oceans Canada department to minimize the impact to fish and fish habitat.
Major construction in the Fraser River is scheduled to begin over the coming months. The new bridge will be constructed roughly 100 metres east of the existing 1937-built, four-lane bridge.
In-river construction for the new Pattullo Bridge in February 2021. (Government of BC)
In January 2020, the provincial government selected Fraser Crossing Partners a joint partnership between Acciona Infrastructure Canada and Aecon Group Inc. to design, build, and provide partial construction financing for the new $1.377-billion, four-lane crossing.
The results of the latest consultation will be presented to the city council this week, which will then make a recommendation on their preferred route option to TransLink management and the Mayors’ Council in the coming months.
TransLink management and the Mayors’ Council are expected to approve any route option recommended by the municipal government. This will then be added to the Mayors’ Council’s Plan or pursued as a standalone project using federal green infrastructure funding.
SFU Burnaby Mountain Gondola route options: Route 1 direct, straight-line (blue); Route 2 eastern angled detour (orange); Route 3 western angled detour (purple). (TransLink)
The preferred route of students, named the Route 1 option by TransLink, has a length of 2.7 km and an end-to-end travel time of six minutes. It has the lowest costs, with a construction cost of $210 million and an annual operating cost of $5.6 million, which is 30% less than the current bus operating costs.
The first buildings set to be demolished are on the city block located on the southwest corner of the intersection of Main Street and East Broadway, where the Mount Pleasant Station entrance building will be located.
Another major demolition area will be the city block where the existing Broadway-City Hall Station entrance is located. All of the buildings on this city-owned block will be razed.
November 2020 conceptual design of Mount Pleasant Station. (Government of BC)
November 2020 conceptual design of Mount Pleasant Station. (Government of BC)
A smaller demolition footprint is slated for the sites of Oak-VGH Station and Arbutus Station, while South Granville Station will be integrated into a private mixed-use office and retail development. The developer’s demolition work on the old RBC office building for the building that will incorporate the South Granville Station entrance began last year.
BCGEU members are employed by the private operator of the Canada Line, Protrans BC, which is a subsidiary of Quebec engineering giant SNC-Lavalin.
Any labour action of BCGEU members is expected to result in a shutdown of the Canada Line. Services on the Expo Line and Millennium Line will not be affected as they are operated separately, and under the CUPE 7000 union.
Passengers are advised to use Google Trip Planner for alternate bus routes.
“Unionized employees are in a legal position to begin job action at 4 pm… TransLink is working with Coast Mountain Bus Company to monitor customer volumes. They may increase service on some existing routes, if necessary,” reads the bulletin.