Three blocks of Lynn Valley Road are in for about three months of construction as crews get set to install separated cycling lanes on either side of the notorious bottleneck.
The heavy lifting is set to begin Monday as workers prepare to take out the median – eventually replacing it. Northbound traffic will be restricted to one lane during morning rush hour but back to two lanes by 3 p.m. for about two weeks, according to District of North Vancouver engineering manager David Desrochers.
“As long as you don’t get too many people observing the construction, traffic should be relatively normal,” he said.
Once the removal is complete, traffic will be shifted to the north side of the street for between two and three months while crews focus on the south side.
Widening the street by 2.3 metres comes with a $1.35 million price tag, with $600,000 coming in equal grants from the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure and TransLink. ICBC also made a small contribution to the project.
While the money is appreciated, the grants come with deadlines, Desrochers explained.
The money has to be spent by March 2017, meaning crews will have to brave B.C.’s unco-operative autumn and winter climates.
“The majority of this work can be done during the poor weather but it’s a little bit of a struggle though to get that top lift paving on,” he said.
Without the last layer of paving, commuters could be in for a 1.5 inch drop, similar to what happened on the Keith Road Bridge, Desrochers noted.
“It’s still functional, it’s just not ideal,” he said.
Coun. Roger Bassam said he was “leery of the costs.”
Situated between Morgan Road and Mollie Nye Way, the project will cost approximately $450,000 per block.
That’s the cost of installing cycling infrastructure “after the fact,” Bassam noted.
Coun. Lisa Muri agreed, reminding council to apply the lesson toward planning in Lower Capilano and Lower Lynn.
Council was united in calling for a barrier between cyclists and motorists along the road.
“You want to get people on bikes then they have to feel safe,” Muri said, calling on council to “put our money where our mouth is.”
The District of North Vancouver is on the hook for $738,000. Approximately $150,000 of the total budget is earmarked for traffic management. Another $200,000 will be spent on installing LED lighting on streetlights and traffic signals.
Concrete work, underground utilities, fencing, handrails and excavation are also expected to eat up a fair chunk of the budget.
The district saved money by planning the job “in house,” according to Desrochers. The one exception was in hiring an arborist for an “independent assessment” of the trees lining the median and boulevard.
“A lot of the trees are in very poor, even dead condition,” Desrochers said. “Most of the adjacent owners are actually happy that they’re going because they have big branches fall down in their yard.”
Workers will remove between 80 and 100 trees, Desrochers said. The district plans to double the number of trees on the median and replace other trees with hedges, depending on the wishes of property owners.
“For the pedestrians right now, with the buses travelling in the curb lane, it’s just not a very friendly environment for pedestrians,” Desrochers said, explaining many trees encroach on the sidewalk.
The district is planning to save about 20 per cent of the street’s trees, according to a staff report.
“If we can save the roots we can save the trees but that has to be done during the construction,” Desrochers said.
But while some vegetation will be saved, Ernie, also known as Hedgie, is gone from the street for good. The “dragon, sea monster or caterpillar,” as Coun. Mathew Bond described it, has been permanently relocated to Kirkstone Park.
“It’s actually way better off in a park than a median,” Desrochers said, who lauded staff for their passion in allowing Hedgie to survive.
The district is planning to offer updates on construction at dnv.org/property-development/lynn-valley-road-bike-lanes.
