COQUITLAM, B.C., November 30, 2023 – City staff have been supporting a geotechnical issue at a private development site at 500 Foster Avenue in Coquitlam.
In the early evening of Wednesday, November 29, staff were made aware that the shoring wall (i.e. the temporary wall that supports a construction site during excavation) on the north end of the site had started to fail.
Foster Avenue was closed and work began immediately to fix the shoring wall to ensure no further failures.
WorkSafe BC also attended the site to inspect the incident. They have allowed work on the site to continue under the supervision of the site’s geotechnical engineer to stabilize the wall.
As of today, Foster Avenue remains closed between North Road and Whiting Way to all vehicle traffic in order to ensure site and public safety. Pedestrians have access along the north side of Foster Avenue. Emergency work will continue through the day and overnight in order to ensure the integrity of the surrounding infrastructure.
It is expected that this work may take a few days, and we apologize to area residents for the noise of overnight work.
At this time, no one has been injured and there has been no known damage to City roads or underground infrastructure. Repairs to the wall are being supervised by the developer’s professional geotechnical engineers, and they are completing inspections of the rest of the shoring walls. It is not expected that there is any risk to infrastructure or buildings beyond the immediate area of failure.
Residents with questions and concerns can contact the City’s Planning and Development team at 604-927-3430 or devinfo@coquitlam.ca. After-hours concerns can be directed to the City’s 24/7 Engineering and Public Works customer service at 604-927-3500 or epw@coquitlam.ca.
Media Contact
Andrew Merrill
General Manager, Planning and Development
media@coquitlam.ca
We acknowledge with gratitude and respect that the name Coquitlam was derived from the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ (HUN-kuh-MEE-num) word kʷikʷəƛ̓əm (kwee-KWET-lum) meaning “Red Fish Up the River”. The City is honoured to be located on the kʷikʷəƛ̓əm traditional and ancestral lands, including those parts that were historically shared with the q̓ic̓əy̓ (kat-zee), and other Coast Salish Peoples.