Friday, May 19, 2017

Wampler Way Bypass proposal now taking public comment

The planning process for a proposed new roadway around the populated area of the District of Port Edward is moving forward into the public comment phase this month, as the Ministry of Forest, Lands and Natural Resources begins to accept feedback from the public related to the Wampler Way Bypass Road.

As part of the process, the District of Port Edward has filed an application with the Ministry that outlines the nature of the road construction project and the various elements that will mark its development.

The report created by the Prince Rupert office of McElhanney engineering, follows up on some preliminary work earlier this decade on the project, that timeline however had been postponed pending further progress with the Pacific NorthWest LNG project.

The high profile and at times controversial LNG project has yet to be given a full green light by the Malaysian energy company Petronas, which continues to consult with local stakeholders and international partners.

Back in 2014, the District of Port Edward reached a twenty five year agreement with Pacific NorthWest LNG , one aspect of that agreement which could deliver 150 million dollars to the district over that period was the more immediate need for funding for development of the infrastructure in the community.

The District has also accessed funding from the Federal and Provincial governments for the proposed bypass road, with the Wampler Way project one of a number of local infrastructure issues that received support in July of 2015.

The Port Edward report, now available for review on line, offers up a glimpse into the details for the ambitious infrastructure project in the community.

There are five key areas examined in relation to the new roadway which has been planned to manage the impact of rapid industrial development on the community, with the initial focus on the development of the proposed Pacific NorthWest LNG terminal project.

Those five areas of note include:

a) Limit urban commercial and residential growth between Skeena Drive / Highway 599 at the future Bypass Road, and create a land use divide between future industrial and residential expansion areas; 

b) Create a safe bypass route for future industrial traffic by avoiding Skeen Drive school zones within the community; 

c) Facilitate development of the Wolf Creek Industrial Area; 

d) Serve as a temporary heavy haul route during the construction phase of the proposed Pacific Northwest (PNW) LNG export facility on Lelu Island. 

e) Provide access to camp supplier Civeo, who has purchased land in the southern vicinity of proposed Wampler Way.

One of the maps from a Report on the Wampler Way Bypass proposal
which highlights the path of the road around the District of Port Edward


The road design was modified from the earlier project work and with the construction of the AltaGas camp land in Port Edward in mind, the latest version of the report provides some background to that change.

McElhanney received direction from the District of Port Edward and PNW LNG to proceed with OSW Option C alignment. 

The north end of the alignment was shifted west to align with the proposed access to the AltaGas lands north of Skeena Drive / Highway 599 and create one four-leg, full movement intersection. 

Where required, the alignment was also adjusted to minimize impacts to private property.

You can review a full overview of the proposed roadway project here.

Those looking to make comments related to the project can access the comment process here.

The deadline for comments related to the application comes up on June 3rd.

More items of interest from Port Edward can be found on our archive page here.


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