Right now, it’s a nearly impassable mess, but by year end, 232nd Street, up to Silver Valley, will have a new appearance.
Construction work is underway on the two-lane, one-kilometre stretch from 132nd Avenue.
By the time everything’s done, there will be a new round-about leading on to 132nd Ave., new storm sewers, retaining walls, a bicycle path and sidewalk and street trees.
To get things done the quickest, the road is closed entirely for July and August, requiring detours up through 224th Street and 136th Avenue.
“Otherwise, it would have been a long process, trying to do one side and then the other,” explained municipal engineer Dave Pollock on Friday.
Total cost for the project is $8.6 million, with $5.7 million of that paid through development cost charges.
Another project underway this summer is completion of the re-do of Lougheed Highway between 224th and 226th streets.
New pavement, sidewalks and street furniture will complete the upgrades that have taken place along Lougheed and 224th Street in the downtown over the past several years.
Meanwhile, design work and discussion between the City of Maple Ridge and the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure continues over the intersection at Haney Bypass (222nd Street) and Lougheed Highway.
“We haven’t got resolution on all the issues,” Pollock said. “That’s still a project in progress.”
The city has deferred a condo project proposed for nearby until it approves designs for the intersection. Maple Ridge has said it wants more than just a double-right hand turn on to the bypass as currently proposed.
