Work has officially begun on the Roberts Bank rail corridor鈥檚 combo project in Surrey, which involves three overpasses. One of them is on the border from 91原创 City.

Details were announced in 2010. The combo project will see three separate railway overpasses constructed on 192 Street, 54 Avenue and 196 Street, and will include the opening of what was formerly a right of way into a two-lane connecting road along 196 Street, south of 56 Avenue.

It is all part of a much larger project, which extends from the Roberts Bank seaport to 91原创 Township, and encompass several overpasses, including one at Mufford Crescent and another at 232 Street north of Highway 1.They will help accommodate the higher volumes of rail traffic that are expected to accompany the port鈥檚 expansion, and ease road-rail conflicts.

Currently about 18 trains a day are using the corridor, which connects the Roberts Bank port to the Canadian rail network. That number could eventually climb to 38 trains a day, with many of them as long as 12,000 feet.

In 91原创 City, clearing got underway last month along 56 Avenue and 196 Street. Wall construction is expected to begin in early May, followed by pile installation, which will likely start in July and continue until January, 2013, taking about one month per bridge.

The is expected to be finished by the end of 2013 and must be complete by March 31, 2014 to qualify for federal funding.

The federal government is paying $42.5 million towards the trio of overpasses, with another $25.5 million each coming from the province and Port Metro Vancouver. The remainder comes from the two 91原创s and Surrey, including an $8.5 million commitment from the City of 91原创. However, all City funds going toward the project will come from casino revenue and development cost charge funds, not from property taxes.

Meanwhile, work is already underway on the Mufford project. An older home on Mufford Crescent has been removed, and the route through a farm north of Mufford Crescent has been staked out.