RFQ issued for Highway 91/17 as Deltaport Way upgrade begins

VICTORIA — The B.C. Ministry of Transportation has issued a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for a highway project that is designed to improve congestion for those south of the Fraser and for vehicles heading to Deltaport.

The RFQ includes design and construction for the following projects:

• Highway 91 at Nordel Interchange: direct ramps to and from Delta, improved acceleration and deceleration lanes and additional through-lanes for Nordel Way traffic crossing over Highway 91;
• Highway 91 Connector at Nordel Way intersection upgrades. This includes a combination of direct access ramps and additional turning lanes to remove a signalized intersection;
• a new interchange at Highway 17 and Highway 91 Connector (Sunbury) and improvements to the River Road connection, removing the existing signalized intersection and eliminating the need for an at-grade rail crossing to access the highway; and
• intersection improvements at Highway 17 at 80th Street (Tilbury), which includes upgrading the right-turn connection from 80th Street.

This RFQ follows the recent award of two other contacts for work in the Deltaport Way area and along 27B Avenue.

According to the release, B.A. Blacktop Ltd. was awarded the contract for the Deltaport Way upgrades, which includes a merge lane that will improve access from 27B Avenue to Deltaport Way.

BD Hall Constructors Corp was awarded the contract for the 27B Avenue upgrades, which is being delivered in partnership with the Tsawwassen First Nation. The scope of work includes roadway widening and upgrades to improve access to industrial lands from 27B Avenue between Deltaport Way and 41B Street. Construction on 27B Avenue and Deltaport Way is expected to get underway shortly, the province states.

These road improvements are part of the $245 million Highway 91/17 and Deltaport Way Upgrade Project, in partnership with the Government of Canada, the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority and the Tsawwassen First Nation, explains a release.

The project is expected to create more than 700 jobs during construction.

Major work under the RFQ are anticipated to be awarded in the spring or summer of 2019, with total project completion scheduled for 2023.