As of Monday, Harris Road is closed to traffic in both directions just north of Lougheed Highway to replace a bridge going over the Katzie Slough.
“It’s just reached the end of its useful life and we are taking the opportunity to add the bike lane connectivity that is on either side of the bridge,” said City of Pitt Meadows Mayor John Becker.
The Harris Road bridge over the slough is going to be wider to accommodate bike lanes.
“While the bridge isn’t very long, it is potentially dangerous for people who are caught on it either on foot or on bicycles because there is no lane to protect them from the traffic,” Becker added.
The closure will be in place until Sept. 8.
A similar bridge improvement project is taking place on Neaves Road.
Construction started on the Neaves Road bridge at the South Alouette River on June 13 and will continue until Jan. 8.
During this time, traffic will a single alternating lane.
“It’s just the time of the year. The weather is good and you can do concrete and asphalt. We ramp up these kinds of road projects when the weather is nice,” Becker said.
He also said the Harris Road CPR underpass is still a long way off.
“We are just compiling the results of the civic engagement processes and then we will divide those into the themes that we heard,” he added.
Concerns from public meetings included the impact on heritage buildings, CPR lands, which may or may not be shared with heritage sites, businesses and neighbours, including those in the Keystone building located right at the corner of Harris Road and the train tracks.
“There’s a host of positives and challenges that have come out of those sessions and we need to sort those out and put them back to the public and to the senior government agencies so they are aware of those,” Becker said.
