Delta commuters can expect some heavy traffic delays on some of the busiest routes in the next couple of years as the city prepares for a series of major sewer upgrades.
The city recently issued a request for proposals to construct seven sanitary sewer projects.
One is a new sanitary sewer along 56th Street from 16th to 12th avenues in Tsawwassen, followed by a second phase along 56th Street from 12th to 8A avenues.
The new sewer is currently under design and it is envisioned that the pipeline will be installed via open cut method. Pavement, concrete and landscape restoration work will be included in the project.
The design of the first phase is expected to be completed this summer with the contract awarded in the summer of 2024. Construction is to start by that summer or fall with a completion in late 2024.
Construction of the second phase is to start in the spring of 2026 with completion later that summer.
A new sanitary sewer is also going to be built along 16th Avenue from 56th Street to Gillespie Road. Construction should start this fall with a completion next spring for that project.
Another is to be built along Shepherd Way from Nordel Way to River Road, while a new sanitary sewer forcemain will be built in Tilbury from 72nd Street to behind 7350 Wilson Ave. Construction is to start in the spring of 2024 and spring of 2025 respectively.
In Ladner, a new sanitary sewer forcemain will be added along Ladner Trunk Road from Elliott Street to 55B Street. That new sewer is also currently under design and it is envisioned that the pipeline will be installed via open cut method.
Construction is to start in the spring of 2025 with completion by that summer.
The city notes that some of the notable challenges with that project include high volumes of traffic on Ladner Trunk Road, working around a shopping mall and elementary school, traffic management and control for all works adjacent to the Elliott Street and Ladner Trunk Road intersection, as well as coordination with Coast Mountain Bus Company regarding bus routes closures and detours.
In North Delta, a new sanitary sewer will be built along 96th Avenue from 116th Street to 114th Street and a trenchless crossing of Southern Railway’s property between 11840 96th Ave. and 11912 96th Ave. Construction is to start in the winter of 2024.
