City of Richmond staff say they are working with TransLink to make sure the completion date of the planned Capstan Canada Line Station in north Richmond isn’t further delayed.
The station will be located at No. 3 Road and Capstan Way – midway between Bridgeport and Aberdeen stations – and is intended to support the growing community in the Capstan Village area. It will have platforms that can accommodate three-car trains, dual escalators and commercial retail space.
While the contractual completion date for the project is June 2022, TransLink said it won’t be finished until March 2023, according to a report from city staff that went to council’s public works and transportation committee on Tuesday.
Issues contributing to the delay include a conflict with the construction schedule of an adjacent development to the east, resulting in a three month delay, as well as well as changes in procurement and delivery processes.
When it comes to these changes, city staff explained at Tuesday’s meeting that instead of a “design-build process” which would result in a single contract, TransLink has indicated it would go with a “traditional design-bid-build process.” This means a contractor for the design is hired separately from the construction contractor, which is adding six months to the process.
“Staff are working with TransLink to mitigate these delays and ensure the completion date is not further deferred,” the report reads.
Construction is set to begin in August, depending on city and TransLink approval of required agreements.
According to the report, construction will impact the east side of No. 3 Road between Capstan and McMyn ways.
If construction does begin next month, the northbound bike lane, east side sidewalk and adjacent northbound vehicle lane on No. 3 Road would be closed during the first week of August. Then, from about the second week of August to February 2023, these would be closed on evenings and weekends.
Furthermore, the report notes that the northbound vehicle lanes are anticipated to be closed from October to November, at the end of February 2022 for two to three days, and for one day in August 2022.
Buses operating on No. 3 Road and Capstan Way near the station will need to be re-routed, and the northbound bus stop on No. 3 Road north of Capstan Way will be closed during construction.
There will also be times when the Canada Line will have single track operation, meaning passengers will need to be shuttled between Bridgeport and Aberdeen stations. This will likely take place every second week over a four-month period starting in March 2022, and TransLink will try to limit the work to weekends.
