BC Hydro proposed new cycling and pedestrian bridge for Grandview Cut

Cyclists and pedestrians in East Vancouver could soon have a new way to cross the Grandview Cut.

BC Hydro is proposing a new 60-metre crosswalk that will have a 3.5-metre cycling path and a 2.5-metre walking track over the Grandview Cut at McLean Drive.

The proposal is part of a larger BC Hydro project to build a transmission line between Coquitlam and Vancouver to help alleviate outages and service interruptions due to overloaded circuits.

WATCH: New way to cross the Grandview Cut in East Vancouver

1:58 New way to cross the Grandview Cut in East Vancouver

The new transmission line would come from Burnaby, cross Highway 1 under East 2nd Avenue to Windermere Street, run along East 8th Avenue, across the Grandview Cut on McLean Drive and run along East 7th Avenue and East 6th Avenue to the Mount Pleasant Substation.

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“The bridge is part of the overall Metro North project,” BC Hydro spokesperson Mora Scott said.

“Basically we need to run the new transmission cables across the Grandview Cut. That means we’re going to have to build a new utility bridge to encase them and then working together with the City of Vancouver, we realized there was a real opportunity here to provide a benefit to the community, and that’s what this bridge project is all about.”

The proposal is still in the early stages. Overall construction for the new transmission line is expected, at the earliest, in 2019 with completion scheduled for 2021.

BC Hydro staff will be holding information sessions to answer questions about the proposed bridge. One is scheduled for Tuesday from 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the northeast corner of Woodland Drive and North Grandview Highway.