30 July 2006
Overpass Marks Milestone
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Langley City mayor Peter Fassbender watches as construction crews
work on the 208 Street rail overpass Friday morning.
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Langley British Columbia - With the eighth and final girder
placed over the Canadian Pacific Railway tracks at Duncan Way, the $36.9 million 204 Street overpass reached another significant
milestone on Friday morning.
It was a critical 24 hours, said Langley City Mayor Peter Fassbender, as placing the girders necessitated the closure of the rail line
for hours at a time - the girders were placed between 7 a.m. and noon on Thursday and Friday mornings. Work is progressing so well that
a 9 a.m. ceremony to mark the placing of the eighth girder over the tracks was actually scheduled too late, as workers had already
positioned the massive concrete crossbar.
Fassbender was joined at the site by City manager Cliff Gittens and engineering director John Manson, as well as project superintendent
Mark Genovese.
"The citizens have really enjoyed the fact that we were able to stop the trains," Fassbender said.
By 8 Aug 2006, girders will have been placed on the support pillars south of tracks. It will take workers well into
September to complete them north to 62 Avenue, where the overpass touches down, north of Langley Bypass.
There is still a long way to go before next summer's anticipated completion. The overpass will carry an estimated 10,000 vehicles every
day. By contrast, an average daily vehicle count on 200 Street today is 20,000.
The overpass will have two lanes northbound and two going south, one bicycle lane in each direction, and a single pedestrian walkway on
the east side, Manson said.
Fassbender was clearly impressed.
"What is amazing is that you have this impression that this structure is awesome, impressive," he said.
"And yet I don't believe it's going to be a concrete eyesore. With the buildings around it, it's not like it's going to stand out
like a sore thumb."
There's more good news. The repetitive and irritating thumping from pile driving is over. "Today's the last day," Genovese
promised on Friday. "There will be a lot of happy people about that, too," said Fassbender.
The overpass, 725 metres long from Logan Avenue to 62 Avenue, will cost $36.9 million.
The bulk of this total, $18 million, is from TransLink. The City and provincial government are contributing $8.45 million each, and $2
million is coming from a federal-provincial government infrastructure grant.
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