Information Update: 500 Foster Avenue

Last updated: Monday, December 11 – 11 a.m.

This update follows the previous statements issued by the City regarding the geotechnical issue at the Amacon Construction Ltd. development site at 500 Foster Avenue in Coquitlam.

Traffic Update

Following confirmation from both the original and third-party geotechnical engineers, the two westbound lanes on Foster Avenue (between North Road and Whiting Way) have been reopened to vehicle traffic as of this morning. The eastbound lane will remain closed as we continue to ensure site and public safety while remediation of the shoring wall is completed. Bus Route 157 will continue to be rerouted via Robinson Street and Smith Avenue in both directions. 

Site Update

Placement of backfill to support the area of shoring wall failure and ensure the stability of Foster Ave is complete. This will allow the developer to safely advance the shoring wall repair. The geotechnical engineers have developed a remediation strategy for the shoring wall so on-site repair work will be proceeding.

The site remains safe and active as re-excavation and remediation of the shoring wall is anticipated to begin this week. There continues to be no expected risk to public safety, infrastructure or buildings beyond the immediate area of failure and both geotechnical engineers will continue to monitor and report on this work.

Neighbourhood Impacts

Coquitlam joins Amacon Construction Ltd. once again in thanking the neighborhood for their patience throughout these interruptions as we work together to resolve this.

In accord with Coquitlam’s Good Neighbour Construction Policy, Amacon has been in communication with property management companies in the area to keep neighbouring residents up to date on work-related impacts. After-hours and overnight work is not expected to continue regularly at this time. Residents can reach out to foster@amacon.com for further updates.

The City will also continue to provide the broader community with updates on traffic and the City’s role in this matter via posts on coquitlam.ca/FosterAvenue.

Background

In the early evening of Wednesday, November 29, staff were made aware that the shoring wall (i.e. the temporary wall that supports a construction site during excavation) on the north end of the site had started to fail. 

Foster Avenue was closed and work began immediately to fix the shoring wall to ensure no further failures. 

WorkSafe BC attended the site to inspect the incident, and provided instruction for the safe operation of the site. They allowed work on the site to continue under the supervision of the site’s geotechnical engineer, GeoPacific, in order to stabilize the wall.

Thankfully, no one was injured and there was no known damage to City roads or underground infrastructure. It is not expected that there is any risk to infrastructure or buildings beyond the immediate area of failure and no significant movement has been observed on the adjacent shoring walls.

Repairs to the shoring walls are being actively supervised by the original geotechnical engineer with an independent third-party geotechnical engineer reviewing and providing oversight of repairs.  While this is not standard practice, City officials felt it was important to ensure there was trust in the protection of City infrastructure and the surrounding neighbourhood.

It is important to note that a shoring wall is a temporary wall installed during excavation and is not the permanent foundation wall for the building, which would be subject to the BC Building Code and City oversight. The BC Building Code does not govern the shoring system. This is within the mandate of the site’s geotechnical engineers who have their own high standards and codes of ethics to ensure safety in these situations.

Residents with questions and concerns related to this development project can contact the City’s Planning and Development team at 604-927-3430 or DevInfo@coquitlam.ca. After-hours concerns can be directed to the City’s 24/7 Engineering and Public Works customer service at 604-927-3500 or epw@coquitlam.ca.