With a total estimated project value of $1.4B, the Evergreen Advanced Light Rail Transit (ALRT) Line will connect to the existing SkyTrain system, extending it so that, when construction is complete in 2016, Metro Vancouver’s SkyTrain system will become the longest rapid transit system in Canada.
The Evergreen Line, which links Burnaby, Port Moody and Coquitlam to Vancouver is expected to carry 70,000 passengers a day by 2021. It was constructed to improve the communities it serves, as well as benefit the region as a whole, the businesses within and the environment by decreasing commute time and reducing traffic congestion.
WSP was retained by Translink to carry out a feasibility analysis, preliminary design and capital cost estimate for Evergreen Line from Lougheed Mall to Coquitlam Centre. Major responsibilities included: LRT alignment options, station location configuration review, identification of property requirements, road reconstruction design, bridge and retaining wall design, and input for capital cost estimate and system / operation design.
Subsequently, as part of the EGRT Construction consortium selected by the Province of British Columbia to design, build and finance the Evergreen Line project, WSP was responsible for providing a suite of engineering design and construction site services in support of the 11 kilometre line. WSP provided the civil and mechanical design services required for the expansion of the existing Lougheed Town Centre Station, the construction of three of the six new stations and associated facilities and landscape and restoration design for the roadway alignment and all seven stations. The line’s alignment required a combination of elevated and at-grade guideways, as well as a two kilometre bored tunnel.
WSP was also responsible for the overall traffic management plan, including maintenance of residential and commercial access along the alignment. The Evergreen Line included associated facilities such as a vehicle storage facility, bus and other transit integration facilities, and facilities for pedestrian, vehicle, and bicycle access.