Minister of Community, Sport and Cultural Development Peter Fassbender, on behalf of Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Todd Stone, was joined by Ron McKinnon, MP for Coquitlam-Port Coquitlam, on behalf of the Honourable Amarjeet Sohi, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities, and TransLink board chair Don Rose today to announce that the Evergreen station plazas will be built over the summer and to give a sneak peek tour of Inlet Centre Station in Port Moody.

“The Evergreen Line’s plazas will create new public spaces for residents to enjoy while providing better access to the transit system,” McKinnon said. “The Government of Canada understands the important role transit and other community infrastructure play in allowing Canadians to be active participants, both socially and economically. This is why Budget 2016 committed to double infrastructure investments over the next 10 years, including funding dedicated to public transit.”

(flickr.com)

A contract in the amount of $1.5 million has been awarded to Jacob Bros for the construction of the Inlet Centre Station and Moody Centre Station plazas. This work is expected to start in early to mid-May and will complete by the end of the summer.

“Evergreen station plazas are designed to be welcoming, functional public spaces and they will include places to sit, bike racks, landscaping and public art,” Stone said. “These plazas have been designed for community use, complementing the surrounding neighbourhoods while providing safe and convenient access to public transit.”

“Inlet Centre Station features an innovative design that allows passengers convenient, safe access from each side of Barnet Highway,” Fassbender said. “It also offers a direct view of some of the environmental enhancements that have been developed along the Evergreen alignment, including fish and riparian habitat.”

“This construction milestone is bringing us closer to completing the longest transit system in Canada,” said Port Moody-Coquitlam MLA Linda Reimer. “We’re proud to invest in this project which will meet the demands of a growing population, provide communities with well-designed public spaces and connect the Tri-Cities communities to the Metro Vancouver transit network.”

“Each customer on the Evergreen extension will start and finish with a walk through these plazas – and it is exciting to know that the plazas will come to life in the near future,” said TransLink board chair Don Rose. “This project is a great example of all levels of government working together to invest in much-needed transportation infrastructure in the region.”

Construction is underway at Burquitlam Station plaza and a third contract will be awarded for the Coquitlam Centre, Lincoln and Lafarge Lake-Douglas station plazas. This contract is out for tender and will be awarded in May with work starting in June.

Station plaza construction will continue until fall 2016. Access to businesses and public transit including bus exchanges and West Coast Express will be maintained at all times.

The Evergreen Line Project is 85% complete and the new line will be in service in early 2017. Once Evergreen is complete, B.C. will have the longest fully-automated rapid transit line in the world.

Learn More:

The Evergreen Line Project: www.evergreenline.gov.bc.ca

Information in other languages is available at: www.evergreenline.gov.bc.ca/languages.htm

Twitter: @TranBC #EvergreenlineBC

Facebook: www.facebook.com/evergreenline

Here is a video of the "box jacking" technique at Inlet Centre Station, which helped construction crews add entrances on both sides of the Barnet Highway, while reducing the amount of time the highway needed to be closed for construction: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URAcVqnGPIQ&index=1&list=PLA3868620723AF8E4

For photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/tranbc/sets/72157632226282626

A backgrounder follows.