Shoreline Trail boardwalk $800k over budget due to environmental factors

A replacement project on the Shoreline Trail boardwalk is $800,000 over budget, but Port Moody is forging ahead on the second phase of development. 

On July 25, city council approved $6.2 million to connect the boardwalk from the Suter Brook Creek to Noons Creek. 

“We are investing in the Shoreline Trail boardwalk so that this landmark structure and community asset is reliable and inclusive for all residents and visitors to enjoy safely for many years to come,” wrote Mayor Meghan Lahti. 

The first phase of the project, replacing the boardwalk and trail between Murray Street and Suter Brook Creek, began in December and is still underway. It originally had a price tag of $3.15 million, but the budget ultimately increased to $3.95 million following a closed council meeting in March. 

The rise was attributed to the nationwide increase in construction costs and challenges building a new structure over environmentally-sensitive parts of land. 

Geotechnical tests, specifically, found softer than expected soil conditions on the trail, requiring construction crews to install steel piles about twice as big as originally expected to support the new boardwalk. 

“This change to the work had a significant impact on costs,” the city wrote in a release. 

The update was released following a closed council meeting on July 23. The report will be included in the items released in the next regular council meeting in September. 

Phase one of the project, which includes $495,00 in federal funding, is expected to be complete by the end of the summer. A portion of that section of trail may also be partially reopened to the public at that time. 

The Shoreline Trail boardwalk was first built by the city over 30 years ago. 

It served as a pedestrian connection over mud flats and marshes between Rocky Point Park and Old Orchard Park. The trail quickly became one of Port Moody’s most popular trails, serving more than 230,000 visitors every year. 

In 2021, however, an engineering assessment found that the boardwalk and bridges connecting the trail were in need of a replacement. (The structures were also frequently covered by water during storm surges and king tide events, according to the city.) 

Funding on the second phase of the project will not result in a tax hike for residents, said Lahti. 

The allocation of $6.2 million — coming from a combination of a provincial grant and the city’s public art, density bonus and community amenity reserve funds — will allow Port Moody to replace the full 440 metres of boardwalk, bridge and trail and ensure that the structure will be able to manage the rising sea levels in the future. 

Multiple residents applauded the decision on a Facebook post following the city’s announcement. 

Construction on the second phase of the boardwalk project, projected to start by the end of the summer or in the fall, will also include a new viewing platform that will serve as the site of a new house post from the Katzie First Nation. 

The project, ‘In the Presence of Ancestors,’ is a community engagement initiative that will see carvers from five nations — Kwikwetlem, Tsleil-Waututh, Musqueam, Katzie and Squamish —create a house post along the Burrard Inlet, allowing their respective nation to share their history and future goals.

The first two house posts, carved by Zachary George, a Tsleil-Waututh artist, and a group of Kwikwetlem artists, were installed around Rocky Point Park last year. 

The Katzie house post and platform will be located near Trasolini Field and Pigeon Cove.

The second phase of the boardwalk replacement project is expected to be complete by next spring or summer.