Get ready for some major multi-year disruptions in Stanley Park, which will enable critical work on ensuring the reliability of Metro Vancouver’s drinking water supply from the North Shore reservoirs.
Metro Vancouver Regional District announced today that construction on the new Stanley Park Water Supply Tunnel will begin in mid-November 2024.
This follows the regional district’s board approval earlier this year to award a contract worth $318 million, plus tax, to a private contractor to build the new replacement and expanded trunk water supply tunnel beneath the popular Vancouver park.
The board also approved a budget increase from $395 million to $495 million due to the need to extend the construction timeline by 11 months to “meet operational water redundancy and planning requirements” and the escalation in market prices for materials that exceeded the regional district’s original estimates.
This new north-south tunnel will replace the existing 1930s-built water main tunnel beneath Pipeline Road and Tunnel Trail.
This has become a priority replacement project, with leaks of the existing tunnel growing in occurrence, including a major leak in 2016 and a minor leak in 2023. As this is a high-pressure, high-flow water main, a major rupture of the existing pipe could cause significant damage and risk public safety.
This specifically replaces a water main tunnel that directly provides a drinking water supply to Vancouver and Richmond.
“Metro Vancouver has a process in place for inspecting, monitoring, maintaining, and upgrading its system to ensure that the region consistently receives high-quality drinking water,” Murray Grant, the director of major projects for Metro Vancouver Regional District, told Daily Hive Urbanized today, noting that the regional district directs about 25% of its annual capital budget to maintaining and upgrading the drinking water system.
“This project is one of several projects underway and planned to replace or upgrade aging drinking water infrastructure, increase capacity for population growth, and ensure our system can withstand strong earthquakes.”
Map of the route for the new Stanley Park Water Supply Tunnel. (Metro Vancouver Regional District)
Stanley Park Water Supply Tunnel construction process. (Metro Vancouver Regional District)
Much of Metro Vancouver receives its drinking water from the Stanley Park Water Supply Tunnel built in the 1930s. (Metro Vancouver Regional District)
Construction will involve excavating three vertical shafts reaching the depths of Stanley Park — one shaft next to the intersection of Chilco Street and Alberni Street (right next to Lost Lagoon), one shaft in the middle of the Vancouver Park Board’s service yard in the middle of Stanley Park (near the Rose Garden, just off Pipeline Road), and one shaft next to Burrard Inlet (near the northern end of Tunnel Trail, where the trail meets Stanley Park Drive).
Upon completion, two new valve chambers will control the flow of water through the new tunnel.
The three main construction sites will temporarily use 4.4 acres of Stanley Park’s land area. Some trees and park amenities will be removed, some pedestrians and pathways will be temporarily closed or detoured, and some vehicle parking lots will be closed throughout construction.
Throughout the years-long construction process, a 200-metre segment of Stanley Park Drive next to the north shaft site will be narrowed from two vehicle lanes to one shared lane for both vehicles and cyclists.
Construction site plan for the south shaft of the Stanley Park Water Supply Tunnel. (Metro Vancouver Regional District)
Construction site plan for the centre shaft of the Stanley Park Water Supply Tunnel. (Metro Vancouver Regional District)
Construction site plan for the north shaft of the Stanley Park Water Supply Tunnel. (Metro Vancouver Regional District)
There will also be significantly more truck traffic on the area’s streets, with the trucks using Davie Street, Denman Street, West Georgia Street, Stanley Park Causeway, and Pipeline Road. This includes the roundabout entrance into the park off West Georgia Street onto Pipeline Road.
Construction on the new water tunnel is expected to reach completion in 2029, at which point all three shaft sites will be restored to an equal or better condition.
This past summer, major breaks in similar key water mains in Calgary and Montreal resembled huge gushing geysers that flooded streets, significantly damaged property, and disrupted the supply of drinking water to large swaths of the cities.
Artistic rendering of the construction process of the Stanley Park Water Supply Tunnel. (Metro Vancouver Regional District)
Artistic rendering of disruptions of the Stanley Park Water Supply Tunnel’s south shaft construction site next to Lost Lagoon. (Metro Vancouver Regional District)
Artistic rendering of disruptions of the Stanley Park Water Supply Tunnel’s south shaft construction site next to Lost Lagoon. (Metro Vancouver Regional District)