4tq — LONSDALE INTERCHANGE PHASE Ii TO START 3 - sunday. January 21, 1990 - North Shore News _MID-FEBRUARY Poor weather delays overpass construction CONSTRUCTION delays on the $22 million Upper Levels Highway Lonsdale interchange caused by poor weather late last year have pushed back the start time on the project’s second stage to mid-February. By TIMOTHY RENSHAW ‘eporter Stage two was initially scheduled to get under way in mid-December, but project manager Hans Zim- merman said excessively wet weather in the later part of 1989 Tesulted in a rescheduling of con- struction timetables. But he added that stage two of the four-stage project should still be completed by July, as originally planned. The first stage of overpass con- struction cleared and laid the ground work for the interchange’s on and off ramps. In stage two, excavation for the actual overpass at the Lonsdale and Upper Levels intersection wil begin. - -The overpass bridge will run @ north-south along Lonsdale at the present street level, while the ex- cavation will drop the highway and its traffic beneath the bridge. A north-south detour that will jog slightly to the east of Lonsdale will be built to divert traffic around the excavation work. Zimmerman said construction on the Lonsdale detour has already begun and should be completed by early February. He added that no major inter- ruptions to north-south or east- west traffic flows are expected dur- ing the overpass excavation work or during any portion of the pro- ject’s second stage. In addition to the overpass ex- cavation, the two major east-west highway ramps for the interchange will be completed in stage two. During stage-two construction, eastbound highway traffic will be diverted to ramps running south of Site clearing causes WV SITE CLEARING work on a West Vancouver lot Wednesday resulted in an oil spill after a backhoe op- erator punctured a_ residential heating fuel tank. [By MICHAEL BECKER News Reporter The spill was eventually con- tained. But seeping oil reportedly fouled soil and nearby creeks and NEWS photo Mike Waketleld HEAVY CONSTRUCTION equipment near the Upper Levels Highway intersection at Lonsdale Avenue is silhouetted against construction that is progressing on the $22 million highway overpass. Stage two of the project is scheduled to get under way in mid-February. the highway and parallel to ex- cavations, while westbound traffic will run along existing, widened westbound highway lanes. The small portion of St. Georges Avenue immediately south of the highway that was closed during age one will be reopened to traf- ic. But no decision has been made as yet over whether the controver- sial eastbound off-ramp connec- tion to Chesterfield Avenue south of the highway will be opened dur- ing stage-two construction. Zimmerman said the decision is up to North Vancouver City. Residents and parents in the Chesterfield area raised opposition to the off-ramp in a Sept. 22 News ditches. Fourteen-year-old Tom Barbour lives adjacent to the 1400-block Kings Avenue spill site. He said, ‘‘! thought we had a furnace leak. The smell was just putrid.” Action to clean up the spill was taken Thursday after North Shore Health’s Environmental Health Director Bill Kimmett was notified. Kimmett said a West Vancouver story following their realization that the off-ramp will funnel east- bound traffic leaving the highway down Chesterfield Avenue im- mediately adjacent to Lonsdale Elementary School. City engineers met Nov. 2! with residents, parents and school of- ficials to discuss concerns about the Chesterfield off-ramp connec- tion and come up with solutions and alternatives. An estimated 165 students cross Chesterfield every day. In addition to the elementary pupils who cross the street from west to east to get to Lonsdale School, high school students cross Chesterfield from east to west on their way to Carson Graham Secondary School. municipal crew recovered approx- imately 200 gallons of fuel oil. The tank had a capacity of 250 gallons. The recovered oil was pumped out of a makeshift containment pond. Oil-soaked soil was stockpiled on a concrete foundation and covered with a tarp. A 1988 Environment Canada investigation of local Residential Underground Storage Tanks (RUSTs) determined that only 40 per cent of 126 North Shore tanks North Vancouver City Mayor Jack Loucks said Friday council is currently awaiting a report from staff on the Chesterfield connec- tion. A decision on whether the con- nection will be opened, he said, will be made following considera- tion of the completed report. Hf the Chesterfield connection is not opened, Zimmerman said east-bound traffic leaving the highway on the off-ramp east of the intersection will continue along the off-ramp and exit on Lonsdale Avenue, Meanwhile, the highways ministry is finalizing its decision on whether it will use the Loop or Diamond overpass design for the oil spill identified and tested had been drained of fuel oil before they were abandoned. The cumulative threat posed by broken fuel tanks to local creeks, ground water and soil is substan- tial, according to Environment Canada officials. Kimmett plans to meet with West Vancouver staff to try to streamline municipal spill response procedures. NVD Council pushes for Cove Cliff School WITH DEADLINES for government funding drawing closer, North Vancouver District Council decided Jan. 15 to intervene in the school board’s attempts to build a new fa- cility in Deep Cove. “The school board is sleeping in class.”’ said Ald. Bill Rodgers, “they're failing in their duties.” The public is demanding that the Cove Cliff School be built quickly but that the environment be pro- tected as well, he said. But the board has not come up with any viable solutions to build the school while saving Myrtle Creek, Council has asked its statl to By PAMELA LANG Contributing Writer review the school board’s reports and look at alternatives to the proposed culverting plan, which has been refused by the govern- ment for ccological reasons. As well, the district will cequest a joint meeting between it and the school board. Ald. Rick Buchols suggested council must get involved now to save itself from being accused at the last minute of delaying the project, when it is the school district that is delaying the project. “They're dragging their feet, they’re not accountable to the public and it’s about time they got on with it,’’ he said. A letter to council fron. Robin Brayne, superintendent of schools for the North Vancouver School District, says the board has put forward three plans for enclosing Myrtle Creek, which crosses the Raeburn Street site. None has met with approval from the Depart- ment of Fisheries and Oceans or the Ministry of Environment. The Department of Fisheries, however, has refused the culverting option, and is not likely to change its position, pointed out Ald. Ernie Crist. A letter from Deep Cove resi- dent Peter Smith included a 48- signature petition from = area homeowners calling for the protec- tion of Myrtle Creek as a coho salmon and cutthroat trout habitat. Upper Levels interchange at Westview Drive. Dave Cunliffe, Highways Ministry regional director for the south coast region, said the deci- sion will be made following con- sideration of an updated engineer’s report on the Westview inter- change. The report is scheduled to be completed in February. A gtoup of Westview area resi- dents has raised heated opposition to the Loop, contending that it would have a far greater impact on area environment and overall qual- ity of life than the Diamond design. The Ministry of Highways has previously indicated preference for the Loop design. Gary Bannerman........ 9 Cocktails & Caviar......38 Comics... .. rn ¥4 Cruising Feature........31 Editorial Page.......... 6 Bob Hunter............ 4 Innovations ............ 46 Lifestyles..............43 Mailbox ............. . 7 Money Matters......... WEATHER Sunday and Monday, periods of rain. Tuesday, mostly cloudy with showers. Highs near 8°C. Second Class Registration Number 3885