The widening of 91原创's 208 Street is moving slower than originally planned, as the Township works with BC Hydro to upgrade electrical infrastructure before the full four-lane version of the road is finished.
Busy 208 Street has long been a major issue in the fast-growing Willoughby neighbourhood. For decades, Township policy was to upgrade even major roads mostly in a piecemeal fashion. Developers were responsible for widening the portion of road in front of their property, as well as adding sidewalks and bike lanes. This saved the Township from the expensive work of paying for miles of road widening all at once.
While development of Willoughby was rapid, it was not uniform. This meant that between the Willowbrook Connector in the south and the 208 Street overpass in the north, by the late 2010s parts of 208 Street were four lanes wide, parts were three lanes, and parts were two lanes. The road widened and narrowed in multiple places.
In 2023, the Contract With 91原创 majority on council voted to begin a major expansion that would widen the road along its entire remaining length, including a stretch between 72 Avenue and approximately 76 Avenue where development, and widening, had not yet begun at all. Phase one was budgeted at $33.2 million and phase two at $23.7 million.
In addition to building the road, the project is adding street lighting, moving or removing power poles, and putting in sidewalks, multi-use paths, and bike lanes.
Work on phase one, from 64 Avenue to 72 Avenue, was scheduled to start on Sept. 5 2023, and was originally scheduled to wrap up on Sept. 30.
Construction of phase two, from 72 Avenue to 76 Avenue, was scheduled to start on July 30 and wrap up on June 12, 2025.
However, both dates have been pushed back, with phase one now expected to conclude on May 19 next year, and phase two on Feb. 1, 2026.
What's added the time is an extensive BC Hydro project. The power company is putting in underground electrical duct banks that run under the site of the new road.
A duct bank is an underground tunnel for electrical cables, and installing one requires a trench 2.5 metres wide and deep.
The new electrical infrastructure is to meet the growing power needs of 91原创, particularly the Willoughby area. Over the past 20 years, Willoughby has grown from a semi-rural neighbourhood with a few thousand people to 91原创's largest and most high density neighbourhood, with more than 50,000 residents.
"They're pre-ducting 208, so they don't have to cut up the road at a future date," said Kyle Donaldson, a BC Hydro spokesperson.
According to Nick Hosseinzadeh of 91原创 Township, all the Hydro work is being paid for by the utility company.
He said that the time disruption to drivers would be greater if the work was done separately.
Donaldson noted that BC Hydro is trying to do work like this in partnership with local governments or other utilities. A recent duct bank project on 64 Avenue in Surrey was done at the same time as other utilities work for similar reasons 鈥� the roads could be torn up once instead of three separate times.
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