Westminster Pier Park is on track to open in March 2012 despite some delays due to contaminated soils.
Project manager Dugal Purdie said the project encountered some difficulties with environmental issues in the vicinity of the concession area. The presence of chlorinated solvents in the form of a dense, nonaqueous phase liquid (dubbed a "toxic blob" by some residents) caused some delays as the area near the Fourth Street section of the site had to be remediated to the provincial Ministry of Environment's satisfaction.
While the contaminated groundwater was far below the surface and didn't appear to be progressing toward the Fraser River, Purdie said there was a concern that it could penetrate through to the river at some time in the future. "It wasn't expected. It was something extra to get into the schedule," he said. "That is what has led to the delay."
Despite the delays created by dealing with the contaminated groundwater, Purdie is confident the park will be completed by its March 2012 deadline.
"Everything is being worked on that should be worked on," he said. "Things are proceeding."
The City of New Westminster purchased the waterfront site in March 2009 for $8 million.
The city, province and federal governments each contributed $8.3 million toward construction of the park, which must be done by March 2012 in order to comply with federal grant requirements.
"They are doing concrete pathways and so forth. They are putting the wooden boardwalk in. The guardrails at the edge are in on the eastern end. They are putting guard rails in," said Jim Lowrie, the city's director of engineering services. "The roof is on the concession structure, which is a bit of a milestone because they can fill in the landscaping on all three sides."
Purdie said landscaping and construction of concrete areas and hard surfaces are taking place simultaneously at the site. All soil coming to the site for landscaping has to be tested to ensure it meets the Ministry of Environment's standards before it's deposited at the site.
"Because it was a contaminated site, just to bring soil on we have to check the soil to make sure it is not contaminated," Purdie said. "Because it is going through a ministry process, everything has to be tested."
Mayor Wayne Wright said the project is on budget and will be completed by the deadline.
"We have been behind because of that blob," he said. "That was because we had to do it (remediation) correctly."
Westminster Pier Park will be located on the waterfront between Sixth and Elliott streets. It will include a 600-metre boardwalk that connects to the existing Quayside esplanade, pathways, a large gathering space, a concession stand, grassy areas, lookout points and bridges that provide views of the water, an elevated viewing area where people can see the Fraser River, children's playgrounds and a building near the foot of Sixth Street.
The City of New Westminster expects to submit environmental reports to the province within the next couple of weeks.
"They will be going in the next week or two. They are fairly complex reports," Lowrie said. "There are three reports going in. They are doing their final edits and details."
The reports are being prepared by Worley Parsons Westmar, which is a member of the project team working on Westminster Pier Park.
Soil remediation and groundwater treatment were required at the brownfield site, whose past uses included coal storage warehouses, industrial equipment operations, industrial machine shops, marine works, foundries or metal scrap melting, coal-fired power generation, marine and automobile fuelling and land filling.
Lowrie couldn't say how long it would take ministry officials to review the reports or to get a certificate of compliance for the remediation work that's been done at the site. He said ministry officials are well informed about the work that's been done at the site as they've met with city officials numerous times about the park's remediation and have offered advice on dealing with specific environmental issues at the park.
"The reports are in the stage where they are having their final I's dotted and T's crossed," Purdie said. "They are massive reports. They are in the order of 3,000 pages."
Earlier this year, the Canadian Urban Institute awarded the City of New Westminster a 2011 CUI Brownie Award for Westminster Pier Park. The award came in the category of sustainable remediation technologies and technological innovation.
Lowrie noted that a large quantity of soil for the waterfront park is coming from the Queen's Park turf field project.
"As soon as the soil goes down, we will start to see the green component being planted," Purdie said. "It's all sitting in a landscape yard waiting for the call to go to the site. Everything is still fine for planting at the moment."
A structure that will represent the historic Lytton Square, a building that housed the city's first official public market but was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1898, will be the centerpiece of Westminster Pier Park.
"That has all been pre-built. It is being built in a factory," Purdie said. "It is being built to the design drawings in a facility."
Purdie said the large structure will go up quickly once it arrives at the waterfront site.
"When people see that going in, it will really start to take shape," Lowrie said. "People will have a good visual of what the final project will be."
