Road crews shut down a major commuter route in Coquitlam this morning after a 300-tonne beam dislodged on the Evergreen Line.
RCMP were first called around 1:30 a.m. after reports of a loud bang in the area of Como Lake Avenue and Clarke Road.
Worried the concrete could fall into the street, officers shut down part of Como Lake Avenue and Clarke Road and set up a detour.
“It’s not a catastrophic failure, but it’s certainly something the city is concerned with,” said Richard Stewart, Mayor of Coquitlam. “The province and contractor are in charge of the province, we have nothing to do with it, but it’s obviously concerns us when this can happen over one of our roadways.”
Clarke Road was reopened before noon, but it is unknown how long the part of Como Lake under the line will shut off to traffic for.
The public will be advised as soon as the road is safe to open, which is expected before rush hour on Monday morning.
Detours will remain in place during the closure. Flagging personnel are on site and signs are posted to help motorists through detours.
“We’re going to keep Como Lake shut down until we can make sure that it’s safe and assess how we’re going to then move forward,” said Nasir Kurji, Evergreen Line construction manager.
Amanda Farrell, project director for the Evergreen Line, said that engineers are investigating the exact cause of the failure, but said that support beams ensured there was no threat of concrete falling down.
ERGT Construction, which is in charge of building the line, will be responsible for the cost of repairs – but Farrell says they shouldn’t cause delays to construction.
The 10.9 kilometre Evergreen Line is expected to be in service by Summer 2016.
PHOTO GALLERY: Problem on the Evergreen Line shuts down a busy intersection
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