The westbound curb lane on Bowen Island Trunk Road will be closed for the next several weeks.
Bowen Island Municipality sent out a notice June 14 announcing the closure "on an emergency basis" following the formation of a sinkhole. The closure stretches along the right lane from Miller Road to Orchard Lane.
"This lane closure is an emergency measure, but part of scheduled work on the storm sewer replacement project in this section of road," said the municipality in the initial Alertable advisory.
In a follow-up advisory Thursday, the municipality said repair work will start Monday, July 11. The delayed start date is attributed to "timelines for material delivery."
Once work beings, the curb lane will gradually be reopened in sections heading east.
In the meantime, there will likely be delays for vehicles offloading from the ferry until the lane is open again, since two lanes will be merging into one. Pedestrians are asked to cross to the south side of the road and not walk through the blocked off area. The crosswalk has also been moved to the west side of the Bowen Island Trunk Road and Miller Road intersection.
Storm sewer replacement under Bowen Island Trunk Road was a priority in this year's budget, with $1.5 million allocated to fix damages under the road. This lane had been scheduled to close for work, but the municipality decided to close it immediately after the sinkhole was found.
