Major new road project at YVR Airport to create development parcels

The existing western segment of Ferguson Road that will be removed (red), the new replacement western segment of Ferguson Road under construction (green), and the existing eastern segment of Ferguson Road that will be retained (yellow) at Vancouver International Airport. (Metro Vancouver Regional District)

Construction on a major new perimeter access road on the north side of Sea Island is reaching a new phase of progress.

This is a complete reconstruction and relocation of the two-km-long westernmost segment of Ferguson Road on the north side of the North Runway of Vancouver International Airport (YVR).

Ferguson Road is the only access road to reach Iona Island and Metro Vancouver Regional District’s Iona Island Wastewater Treatment Plant. It also serves the Canada Post Processing Plant and the UPS Customer Centre distribution hubs.

Templeton Street from Grant McConachie Way transitions into the east-west Ferguson Road on the north end of Sea Island.

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The project involves building a new replacement segment of Ferguson Road immediately west of the Canada Post facility to link with Iona Island Causeway on the west end of Sea Island. After it reaches completion, the existing diagonal segment of Ferguson Road west of Canada Post will be removed.

This road replacement and realignment project addresses safety and security concerns with airport operations, and supports YVR’s plans to establish the airside development parcels for the Northlands Greenfield Land. YVR has a new strategy to create trade-enabling warehouse and logistics uses on the footprint of the existing diagonal Ferguson Road segment — essentially a westward continuation of the same types of uses found at the Canada Post and UPS facilities.

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vancouver international airport yvr 2021 land use amendments

Vancouver International Airport’s 2021 Sea Island land use changes, showing the Northlands Greenfield Land for developments and the rerouted Ferguson Road. (Vancouver Airport Authority)

This will also directly support a proposed major expansion of the Canada Post facility. The federal government is in the midst of considering a westward expansion of the 2014-built facility with an additional new building, new processing equipment for parcel and packing sorting, office space, and docking and parking spaces for trucks, trailers, and employees. Canada Post has yet to publicly reveal its proposed design for the facility.

The current construction project was accelerated upon the request of Metro Vancouver Regional District to accommodate the construction traffic needs for their $10 billion project of building a new replacement and expanded sewage treatment plant at Iona Island.

Construction on the new $26 million roadway first began last year, after the regional district agreed to share the costs with the Vancouver Airport Authority. The regional district is covering 50% of the construction costs and 50% of the maintenance costs of the road until 2035, when the new sewage treatment plan is operational.

The new Ferguson Road west of Canada Post is expected to reach full completion no later than the end of Summer 2024, ahead of the Fall 2023 start of major construction work on the sewage treatment plant.

Canada Post Pacific Processing Centre Vancouver International Airport YVR Richmond Sea Island

Canada Post Pacific Processing Centre at Vancouver International Airport, as seen from Ferguson Road. (Google Maps)

Site plan of the new Iona Island Wastewater Treatment Plant and area ecological improvements. (Metro Vancouver Regional District)

Artistic rendering of the new Iona Island Wastewater Treatment Plant and area ecological improvements. (Metro Vancouver Regional District)

According to the regional district, the existing western segment of Ferguson Road between Canada Post and Iona Island Causeway is also in poor condition, consists of two sub-standard vehicle lanes, lacks space for pedestrians and cyclists, lacks shoulders, and is bordered by deep drainage ditches.

The eastern segment of Ferguson Road between Canada Post and Templeton Street is in a better condition and carries more space and safety features — such as shoulders, turning lanes, and dedicated space for pedestrians and cyclists — following its upgrades timed with the construction of the Canada Post facility nearly a decade ago.

As the only route to Iona Island, which is a popular recreational destination as it is also home to a major regional park, Ferguson Road is also popular with cyclists, but it is also unsafe, with ICBC statistics showing there have been three collisions involving cyclists between 2018 and 2022. Additionally, the existing western segment of Ferguson Road is a popular destination for plane-spotting enthusiasts, given its close proximity to the North Runway.

The new Ferguson Road west of Canada Post will have high-quality pavement to support heavy construction traffic, a bike lane on the south side of the roadway, a four-metre-wide multi-use pathway for both pedestrians and cyclists on the north side of the roadway, turning lanes, and utility improvements to service the existing and upgraded sewage treatment plant.

Looking northwest, where Ferguson Road transitions into Iona Island Causeway on the western end of Sea Island. (Google Maps)

ferguson road sea island construction yvr

Looking west from Canada Post at the existing diagonal Ferguson Road (left) and the construction of the new replacement and realignment of Ferguson Road (right). (Google Maps)

In a bulletin this week providing an update on the roadway project, the airport authority states their work on the new Ferguson Road is expected to reach completion by April 2024, with road paving work taking place between September 2023 and November 2023. As well, water mains will be installed under Ferguson Road between mid-August 2023 and September 2023.

There are also major construction activities occurring on the southern side of Sea Island for the reconstruction of the South Runway and its supporting taxiways. Construction work on the South Runway rehabilitation project was put on a temporary pause on August 2 after construction crews discovered Indigenous artefacts, but work resumed as of August 21, with a 100-metre buffer zone put in place around where the discovery was made. The North Runway is currently seeing increased usage due to the South Runway’s construction.

The airport authority also has long-term plans to replace the busy traffic-signal controlled intersection of Grant McConachie Way and Templeton Street with a grade-separated, freeway-style interchange. This will take vehicles making left or right turns on Templeton Street off of the airport’s main road.

On the eastern end of Sea Island, the provincial government is in the early stages of considering a replacement crossing for the aging Moray Bridge, which is a two-lane, eastbound-only arterial link between YVR and Sea Island Way in the Bridgeport area of North Richmond.

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