The construction saga along 200 Street in the City of Langley is expected to continue into the summer, as utility upgrade work runs over schedule.
Drivers and nearby residents may recall the portion of road between 53 Avenue and Fraser Highway was first torn up in January, 2015 by Metro Vancouver to construct a new sewer main along a right of way. The City of Langley then used the opportunity to add capacity and performance upgrades to the water, sanitary and storm water utilities that run beneath 200 Street from Fraser Highway, south to 50 Avenue.
Originally, the work was to be completed by October 2015, but unexpected obstacles beneath the asphalt, bad weather and additional curb work have all led to project delays, said Rick Bomhof, City director of engineering.
“There’s a number of factors,” he said.
“Underground you never know what you’re going to find, so there’s various things that occurred that just caused delays. You’re kind of fighting against winter and once you get into the colder weather you can’t complete all the work.”
Although the road appears smooth right now, in most areas this is not the final product. The Metro Vancouver portions only have the heavier base course of asphalt completed, and that still needs to be ground out to make way for a smoother top lift, Bomhof said.
“One positive part about the delays is if there is any additional settlement along the road that will be dealt with before the top lift has been done,” he added.
The City hopes the work can be completed by March or April, but admits it could carry on until the summer.
— with files from Brenda Anderson