Another retaining wall on the Sea-to-Sky needs repairs

WATCH: More concerns today about the retaining walls on the new Sea-to-Sky Highway. John Hua reports.

A week after it was revealed that repairs will need to be done on the Sea-to-Sky Highway less than a decade after it was built, the government has announced that a different section is also in need of work.

But that, they say, is it.

READ MORE: Repair work on Sea to Sky Highway retaining wall could cut off access to homes

“There are no safety concerns for the residents. There are no safety concerns for the travelling public. We’re going to ensure that we continue to work with the contractor to ensure that this work is done and that it’s done at the contractor’s expense.”

The new area that requires work is the CN overpass by Brandywine Park. It was uncovered by engineers who did a thorough inspection of all 150 retaining walls on the highway over the past week, after issues were found with an overpass near Pasco Road.

The news angers Mike Pearson, a former blast superintendent contracted by Kiewit during construction of the two areas.

“Some of the errors that were made in building the wall should have been fixed. They should have taken apart some of the walls and start again. Instead of doing that they kept on going and kept on building the wall with the defects in it,” he said.

Pearson said he’s brought up concerns about another section near Eagle Ridge for time, but the government hasn’t responded.

Stone says at this point, the damage is cosmetic.

“They’re absolutely safe today. They weren’t built to the standard that’s actually in the contract, which requires a 75-year lifespan,” he said.

But Pearson is worried about the water coming out a different retaining wall in the Upper Levels area.

“It’s leaking out between the panels down through the foundation at the bottom, which moves the backfill around in behind the wall, and causes stability issues.”