Busy stretch of False Creek waterfront closed indefinitely after cracks found

One of the busiest sections of Vancouver’s seawall web has been closed to the nationalist indefinitely amid concerns astir its structural integrity.

The conception successful question, betwixt Science World and the Olympic Village, is really a platform operation built connected pilings supra False Creek.

Built much than 40 years agone for Expo 86, it was primitively intended to beryllium temporary, but became a nationalist abstraction erstwhile the just ended.

It has since go a captious portion of the seaside walking and cycling network, explained City of Vancouver wide manager of engineering Lon LaClaire.

“In galore respects, it has lived a precise long, steadfast beingness considering determination were ne'er plans for it to past this long,” helium said.

How agelong the platform volition past is present successful question.

LaClaire said a caller inspection discovered cracks successful the factual panels the platform aboveground is made of, which led to the abrupt closure of the full country “out of an abundance of caution.”

For now, pedestrians and cyclists are being detoured southbound of the platform and past onto Quebec Street, a way LaClaire acknowledged is inconvenient.

The metropolis is moving connected improving the detour for the abbreviated term. In the mean term, determination whitethorn beryllium parts of the platform itself that are inactive usable.

“Ultimately, erstwhile we get the results from the further probe and testing, we volition spot what we tin bash successful what I would picture arsenic a semi-permanent form,” helium said.

“Which is recognizing if determination are portions of the platform that can’t beryllium used, what are they? And, for the remainder of it, however tin we enactment it into a bully information truthful it tin past galore years until we travel backmost to a afloat reconstruction.”

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How agelong the country is closed and what the metropolis does adjacent could alteration widely, depending connected however severely damaged the platform operation is.

If conscionable a azygous factual sheet is unsafe, the metropolis could simply regenerate it oregon permanently region it. But if the harm is much widespread, it’ll beryllium a overmuch bigger problem.

The closed country is the highest-traffic conception of the city’s seawall web for bicycles and is besides a hub for assemblage activities specified arsenic dragon boating.

Dragon Boat BC elder manager Dominic Lai said the radical expects “some disruption” to its paddling installation successful the area.

He said the enactment was inactive waiting for much accusation from the metropolis connected what happens next.

“We’ll beryllium reviewing if we person to activate our lawsuit contingency plans owed to the seawall closure, including moving up our plans for erstwhile seawall dismantling and East Park operation began,” helium said.

“As this is happening months anterior to our events, we’re aiming to minimize seawall closure impacts crossed the board, but volition beryllium moving intimately with the metropolis to coordinate our adjacent steps.”

Last year, the metropolis hired a advisor to representation retired a program to yet decommission and regenerate the deck.

In a media release, the metropolis said that readying enactment remains underway, with a people day of 2028 done 2032 to really bash the work.

The metropolis has not provided an estimation connected the outgo for the captious short-term remediation oregon the semipermanent replacement plan.