Work to overhaul the public viewing deck on the Fraser River at Douglas Street and Muench Trail along the Fort to Fort Trail in 91原创 is underway.

Luxton Construction moved a floating 45-ton crane on a barge through Bedford Channel to begin the work on March 12.

Company president Pedram Farzadmanesh said Luxton will perform structural repairs to the timber structure at the view deck and install four new piles alongside the view deck 鈥渢o enhance its structural capacity and longevity.鈥�

Township records show the viewing platform used to be a lumber mill loading dock.

When the area was redeveloped for housing, the dock was repurposed as a pedestrian view deck and incorporated into the Fort-to-Fort Trail.

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In 2018, the deck was damaged by a vandalism-related fire, and temporarily closed.

During repairs in 2019, it 鈥渂ecame apparent that the support piles were deteriorating and approaching the end of their service life,鈥� a Township report said.

A redesign was completed in 2020 that will allow the existing deck to remain where it is while new support beams are installed adjacent to the existing piles.

Estimated cost of the rebuild is $165,000 over two years, and the contract was awarded in early February 2021.

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According to a Township estimate, work was expected to be completed in approximately two to three months.

The Fort to Fort Trail offers 12 to 15 kilometres of walking paths winding along the Bedford Channel portion of the Fraser River, beginning at Bedford Landing and ending at Derby Reach Regional Park.