Sewer line construction now underway on West 4th Avenue

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As you may have already noticed, there’s a sewer line construction project taking place on West 4th between Collingwood and Granville..

Why are they doing the work? Because the current sewer system is 100+ years old. Most of Vancouver’s original sewers were constructed with a combined system – a single pipe in the street that carries storm water runoff and sewage. In the 1970s, the City of Vancouver started updating this old fashioned system with a two pipe system. At long last, they’re getting to work on our neighbourhood. Once the new separated system is in place on West 4th, it should serve the neighbourhood for another 100 years.

We’ve shared what we’ve heard about traffic disruption below. This comes from Dan Dingwall, the project manager.

Details on traffic during construction:

“Traffic on West 4th Avenue will not be closed. In construction zones, traffic will be
reduced to one lane in each direction. In order to keep traffic flowing and ensure public
safety, temporary parking restrictions will be posted in the area. Access to residences
and businesses will be maintained at all times, and we are working closely with the
Kitsilano 4th Avenue Business Improvement Association to minimize the impact of this
construction.

Local parking may also be affected by the presence of work trailers and
equipment on intersecting side streets. Temporary parking restrictions will be removed
as soon as they are no longer necessary. If you are expecting deliveries, or need access to parking, I will do what I can to accommodate your needs.”

The following is our approximate construction schedule:

– Crew #1 (Water) – West 4th Ave, from Burrard Street to Granville Street
Proposed start: Jan 19, 2013
Approximate Duration: 8 weeks

– Crew #2 (Sewer) – West 4th Ave, from Burrard Street to Yew Street
Proposed start: Jan 21, 2013 (at Cypress St)
Approximate duration: 10 weeks

– Crew #3 (Sewer) – West 4th Ave, from Balaclava Street to Waterloo Street
Proposed start: Jan 21, 2013
Approximate duration: 9 weeks

– Crew #4 (Sewer) – West 4th Ave, from Balaclava Street to MacDonald Street
Proposed start: Late Jan 2013
Approximate duration: 10 weeks

– Crew #5 (Sewer) – West 4th Ave, from Burrard Street to Granville Street
Proposed start: Early Feb 2013
Approximate Duration: 13 weeks

*Street and sidewalk construction and paving will start in March and will continue on
until July 2013

Last modified: January 20, 2013

5 Responses to " Sewer line construction now underway on West 4th Avenue "

  1. Tony says:

    When I saw the signs go up .. I assumed the work was to repair the aweful state of the street on w4th. Especially the section between Burrard and McDonald: there are deep grooves in the road, potholes consitently along it, and the remains of countless other sewer / pipe work.

    Is part of the plan to fix the actual road??? It’s a total mess… I avoid it as it’s so bumpy.

  2. Alyson says:

    I thought the same thing. That stretch of the road is a real mess. I hope they include fixing that up.

  3. Bill Barilko says:

    Yes I agree there are some seriously rough stretches on 4th tough even to walk across in places.

    Generally with this sort of project the last thing they do is lay a nice smooth new layer of asphalt to hide all their sins (!)

  4. Andrew says:

    Is translink doing anything about the bus routes affected by this construction? My wife takes the 84 to UBC each morning and the construction is making her commute from Coquitlam extremely unpredictable and causing her to be late for classes. Even some of the days she’s left earlier she’s been made massively late by the delays. The bus drivers themselves have told riders it would be faster for them to walk to where they need to get to, unless it’s UBC.

  5. West 4th BIA says:

    Good news for Tony, Alyson and Bill: once the sewer/water lines remediation project is completed, West 4th will be COMPLETELY REPAVED – eliminating all the bumps and street-long grooves that are there now so that we have a nice, smooth roadway on West 4th. There will also be sidewalk upgrades/fixes where the walkways are buckling because of the tree roots, the City will be installing new Directories at specific corners, and the West 4th BIA will be lighting all the trees with welcoming twinkle-lights to make Kitsilano look extra-special. The sewer work between Burrard and Yew will be completed by the end of April, the repaving, directories and lights done by the end of June. It’s going to be awesome!