Drivers using Clarke Road hill in Port Moody will see changes happen quickly now that the Evergreen Line project team has decided how to keep traffic moving as work on the tunnel begins.
Amanda Farrell, Evergreen's project director, said work has started on some of the traffic changes. The new set of lights and added lanes near Charles Street need to be in place before part of View Street is closed off.
"Then we'll see the work to realign the Barnet Highway while we build the transitional piece for the boring machine to go under the Barnet," Farrell said, adding the highway will be moved back into its original position in about eight months.
The changes to Clarke will include:
adding a left turn out of Charles Street on to Clarke Road;
adding a right turn from Clarke Street on to Barnet Highway to create a new exit point from the Seaview/College Park neighbourhoods;
installing a traffic light for the uphill lanes of Clarke Road, increasing the safety of drivers turning left from Charles on to Clarke (the light will be linked to the ones at St. Johns Street and Barnet to optimize traffic flows);
installing a median barrier on Clarke.
The project team is also considering adding a right-in turn from Barnet on to Clarke Street, and will move forward with that change if it's found to be feasible, Farrell said.
"We looked at a lot of options, talked to city council, talked to staff and we talked to the community," Farrell said. "We considered the feedback we got and the analysis of traffic experts and... we're going to monitor it very carefully, and if we need to make any adjustments, we will do that."
The traffic changes are designed to accommodate work on the tunnel boring, which will start at the bottom of the Clarke hill.
Farrell said the portal and tunnel shaft will be built first and the boring machine will be delivered to the contractor, SNC-Lavalin, around November. Once it's installed, the machine will be put to work, likely next spring or early summer.
