Those who may have thought the long-awaited Evergreen Line would never be built may now be surprised to learn how far along the project is after 18 months of construction.
On Tuesday, project manager Amanda Farrell presented an update to Port Moody council, complete with photos that proved much has been done on the $1.4-billion Burnaby-to-Coquitlam line, although many milestones have yet to be reached.
For example, all the columns are now in place along North Road and when guideway construction is finished this summer, the equipment will move from Burquitlam to Pinetree Way in Town Centre.
Farrell said 75 m of the tunnel under Clarke Road hill have been bored by the machine - nicknamed "Alice" - with work to resume again shortly, with the goal of boring about 8 m a day to get to the south portal by the end of the year.
"It's a major undertaking and it's going well," Farrell told PoMo councillors, adding that installing the tracks and other work in the tunnel will take place in 2015.
While construction is visible throughout the route through Port Moody and Coquitlam, Inlet Centre station is the most complete of all seven stations, Farrell said, and a lot of work is also going on behind the scenes.
Farrell said landscaping, street furniture and public art plans are being developed using principals of Crime Prevention through Environmental Design while streamkeepers have been kept up to date with habitat enhancement plans and efforts to protect creeks from runoff during construction.
"We are working hard to improve those protocols and working with stewardship groups," Farrell said, noting that habitat enhancement work will take place at Suterbrook Creek this summer and on Schoolhouse Creek next year. Earlier this spring, local environmentalists reported silt in Suterbrook from construction.
As well, proposals have been put forward to reduce noise and improve sight lines for Klahanie residents, who expressed concerns last fall about the impact of the rapid transit system on their condo development.
