As crews broke ground on the Evergreen SkyTrain Line Saturday, one Port Moody resident living next to a soon-to-be tunnel said she’s bracing herself for “hell.”
Deborah Nijdam said she’s nervous about crews boring a tunnel right below her property.
“Just not knowing what the implications are of putting a tunnel next door, they say it’s safe, we know that there are problems associated with these things” Nijdam said. “I don’t think I should be in this situation.”
While part of the 11-kilometre line will be on elevated track, some of the line will be underground.
A boring machine will be used to excavate two kilometres into Coquitlam similar to what was used to construct the Canada Line tunnel.
“My concern is my particular house here is built on fill on one side, and if there’s any vibration or water movement of any sort, then I will pay the price because my house will destabilize,” Nijdam said.
“My life is going to be hell, I’m going to have trucks running constantly at the back of the property removing the dirt, and l will be wondering what’s happening to my home and checking my walls.”
Meanwhile, federal and provincial politicians announced the construction schedule for the $1.4-billion project, along with the names of the seven new Skytrain stations.
“Today’s announcement means we’re moving on with something that is important for families, for commuters in their every day life,” said B.C. transportation minister Mary Polak.
“They don’t spend a lot of time thinking about the dollars of taxpayers’ money that are going into infrastructure projects, they’re thinking ‘please, build it so I can ride it and get to work,’” she said.
The tunnel boring will begin next march and will take one year to complete.
The Evergreen Line is scheduled to open in 2016.
With a report from CTV British Columbia's Lisa Rossington
