Neighbourhood Improvements

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232 Street Road Upgrades

The District has finalized the design for road improvements on 232 Street from Fern Crescent to the South Alouette Bridge and from Dewdney Trunk Road to Abernethy Way. Improvements generally consist of bike lanes, sidewalk, horse trails, street lights and a roundabout. The contract has been awarded to Double M Excavating Ltd. Construction began in August and although it will disrupt traffic on 232 Street we will endeavour to keep any inconvenience to a minimum.

August 7, 2008 Construction Updates [PDF, 4.6MB] 
August 21, 2008 Construction Updates [PDF, 3.5MB]
August 22, 2008 Construction Updates [PDF, 4.3MB]
September 8, 2008 Construction Updates [PDF, 8.2MB]
September 19, 2008 Construction Updates [PDF, 2.4MB]
October 17, 2008 Construction Updates [PDF, 2.4MB]

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240 Street Bridge Feasibility

Discussions related to building a second roadway into Silver Valley have taken place for some time. As a result of trees falling during severe winter storms last year and at one point blocking access in and out of Silver Valley, Council directed staff to examine the possibility of a second access route into this area. The District has now completed an initial study that identified two potential routes for a bridge, and based on a number of factors, selected the 240 Street corridor as the preferred alignment for a bridge across the South Alouette River.

An Open House was held on June 25, 2008 to present the conceptual alignment and receive feedback on this study and a final report was submitted to Council in October. Council has directed staff to identify in the Capital Works program, 240 Street as the alignment for a second crossing across the South Alouette River and directed staff to schedule the project in the long term capital plan based on the financial plans and capabilities of the District. At this time the project is scheduled beyond 2013.

A copy of the report is available at the Engineering counter.

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240 Street Upgrades - Dewdney Trunk Rd to 113 Ave

The District has finalized the design for road improvements on 240 Street from Dewdney Trunk Road to 113A Avenue. Improvements generally consist of bike lanes, sidewalk, street lights and storm sewers. The contract has been awarded to Double M Excavating Ltd. Construction commenced in August and although it will disrupt traffic on 240 Street we will endeavour to keep any inconvenience to a minimum.

August 12, 2008 Construction Updates [PDF, 4.4MB] 
August 22, 2008 Construction Updates [PDF, 2.8MB]
September 8, 2008 Construction Updates [PDF, 1.9MB]
September 19, 2008 Construction Updates [PDF, 2.0MB]
October 17, 2008 Construction Updates [PDF, 1.6MB]

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267 Street Watermain

The water main construction on 267 Street is now complete and Lups Contractor was given the substantial completion certificate on August 27, 2008. The water service is available at the property lines of the 12 lots included in the Local Area Service. Property owners are informed that they can now obtain a plumbing permit from the District of Maple Ridge's Building Department to extend the water service from the property line to their homes. Thank you for your cooperation during the construction.

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Abernethy Way Extension Feasibility Study

The District has just initiated a feasibility study for the extension of Abernethy Way from 232 Street to 256 Street. This project is co-funded by the District of Maple Ridge and TransLink. Delcan was awarded the work and will be performing with guidance from the District and TransLink.

Abernethy Way has been envisioned as a key network vehicle, bike and equestrian route that will help advance the development of employment lands at the north end of 256 Street. There are approximately 1,000 acres of potential employment lands in this area, which will go a long way to addressing the need for more employment and economic development in Maple Ridge and also the regional shortage of employment lands that was identified recently by Metro Vancouver. The extension of Abernethy Way will also provide a second access to a significant gravel source and provide another alternative east-west route to the new Golden Ears Bridge to improve transportation for our residents and community.

The purpose of the feasibility study project is to determine the most appropriate alignment based on an evaluation of a number of factors including the functionality, environmental and social impacts, built cost, and property acquisition of the proposed corridor. Throughout the process of this project, public input will be received through a series of Open Houses. The first Open House is anticipated to be in early December 2008.

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Alouette Rivers Flood Management Task Force

On April 2, 2007 Maple Ridge Council established a Task Force to review, identify and recommend solutions to improve the management of flood hazards in the Alouette River system. The Task Force was composed of a working/technical group as well as representatives that acted in liaison and/or advisory capacities. On April 14, 2008 Council received and approved the recommendations [PDF, 16KB] of the Task Force and directed staff to carry out the work. As such, the work of the Task Force is concluded. Meeting notes and reports are available online.

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Civil Duct Bank Construction

To meet the demand for electricity and improved reliability due to the significant growth in your area, BC Hydro will be active in the Maple Ridge community over the next several years doing a variety of civil duct bank work. BC Hydro will be installing new duct banks, including manholes and associated hardware.

The route will follow from 216 Street east on Mountainview Crescent and onto 122 Avenue to 222 Street, south along 222 Street to Selkirk Avenue (this section by Targa Contracting Ltd.), east along Brown Avenue to Dewdney Trunk Road, along Dewdney Trunk Road to 232 Street (this section by Fred Thompson Contractors).

This work has been planned in consultation with the District of Maple Ridge, and an approved traffic management plan is in place. To keep any disruption to a minimum the work will be conducted in stages along the route between the hours of 7:00 am to 7:00 pm.

The contractors will maintain access to your business or residence throughout the construction period. Your electricity service will not be disrupted as a result of this work.

If you need assistance during construction, please contact the appropriate contractor's office - Fred Thompson Contractors 604 435-7665 or Targa Contracting Ltd. 604 881-7157. If you wish to raise any concerns please call our BC Hydro Project Information Line at 1 800 663-1377.

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Cottonwood Drive Roadworks

The Cottonwood Drive road link, traffic calming measures on 119 Avenue, and the road widening at the intersection of Dewdney Trunk Road and Cottonwood Drive is now complete.  BC Hydro has scheduled the relocation of three power poles on the existing pavement on the widened portion of the road for the end of October. Until these poles are relocated, the traffic signal system at the intersection of Dewdney Trunk Road and Cottonwood Drive cannot be installed and the Cottonwood Drive link cannot be opened to traffic. Double M Contracting will still be doing some work on the Cottonwood Drive link including the installation of the w-beam barrier, chainlink fence and tree planting. Thank you for your patience and cooperation.

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Lougheed Highway Safety Improvements

The proposed improvement to the west access to Albion Industrial Park was stalled by CP Rail's reversal of its previous approval to relocate the crossing because they are planning on utilizing larger trains in the future. The Albion area is being considered for temporary storage of these larger trains. According to CP Rail, the new crossing would cause significant challenges to the storage of these larger trains.

The Canada-British Columbia Infrastructure Program grant which was approved in 2004 for improvements at River Road and Lougheed Highway is nearing expiration. To avoid "losing" the grant funding, District staff has developed with the Ministry of Transportation, alternate improvements that will allow for the use of previously approved grant funding. The modified project will provide most of the benefits of the original project and can be constructed without CP Rail's approval. Formal approval by the Province for the use of the funds and extension of the agreement is being sought.

The proposed work is to convert the eastbound right turn drop lane to a through lane on Lougheed Highway and extend it approximately 200 metres east of River Road. Delta islands will be modified to suit the new through lane and to discourage illegal left turns from River Road. A median barrier will also be installed on Lougheed Highway between Tamarack Lane and 105 Avenue. As well, a bicycle lane will be installed on the south side of Lougheed Highway to support cycling and pedestrian traffic including westbound travel to the Haney Bypass. Finally, a pedestrian crossing at the southeast point of the Kanaka/Haney Bypass/Lougheed intersection will also be provided.

The District will be working with the area residents and businesses to start work this fall and ensure the success of this project. An Open House was held on August 7, 2008. View the presentation [PDF, 4.8MB].

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River Road Storm Sewer and Road Improvements

An initiative was directed by Council in April 2007 to pursue a project to install storm sewers on River Road as a Local Area Service (LAS) and submit a grant application for funding assistance from the Provincial and Federal Governments. During June, the District was advised that request for funding assistance was not granted and Council received a petition from 75 percent of the area residents requesting that municipal funds be allocated to the implementation of the improvements.

As a result, Council passed the following resolutions:

• That upon receipt of a formal response from the Provincial Government in regard to a infrastructure grant request for River Road, staff is to hold a public information meeting for residents; and
• That the local improvement process previously directed by Council not be pursued; and
• That the results of the Golder Associates study currently underway be used as input to address future priorities for the area; and
• That the recommendations from the Golder Associates study be brought forward as part of the 2008 business planning process; and further
• That this information be released to the public in the correspondence informing the residents of the proposed meeting.

On July 26, 2007 an information meeting View the presentation [PDF, 772KB] was held to provide background on the:

• grant application,
• District's capital works program,
• phasing of storm sewer improvements on River Road,
• conclusion of the LAS process,
• as well as information on the District's next steps.

The results of the geotechnical investigation  [PDF, 16.3MB] (described in the project above) were presented at a public meeting on February 25, 2008 View the presentation [PDF, 5MB]. An Open House was held on October 2, 2008 View the presentation [PDF, 650KB]. Council approved funding for the storm sewer in the 2008 Capital Plan. 

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Spirit Square

Maple Ridge Council approved the awarding of a contract to Tybo Contracting Ltd. to construct the Spirit Square project on 224 Street adjacent to Memorial Peace Park. Tybo will not waste any time getting going on the project as they will begin construction on 224 Street between 119 and McIntosh Avenues on January 5. Work will include widening of sidewalks, new street lighting, floral displays, water fountains and upgraded storm sewer and water mains with completion of construction scheduled by this June.

December 15, 2008 Sod Turning

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Traffic Signal Installations

The District has now completed the installation of a new traffic signal at the intersection of 232 Street and 128 Avenue.  Construction is underway for the fire signal at Firehall #1 on Dewdney Trunk Road with anticipated completion by early December.

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