Kiewit Marine Yard Build-Out Project
To help support the construction of important regional infrastructure projects, Kiewit is planning to build out its existing Marine Yard along the Fraser River into a modern marine facility that we are proud to showcase to the community and that meets today’s environmental and engineering standards.
Project Background
Kiewit owns and operates an industrial waterfront property located in the Fraser Mills area along the Fraser River at 1950 Brigantine Drive, Coquitlam, BC.
The property and area have had an industrial use since the late 1800’s, the general area was originally developed with the Fraser Mills sawmill to the west. Further development in the area north of the property included the (now decommissioned) landfills to the north during the 1960s and 1970s, and warehousing and light industrial buildings constructed in the early 1990s. Kiewit purchased the property in 2021.
The Marine Yard is split between a fee simple land owned by Kiewit and a port authority lease lot.
Public Engagement
We invited interested parties to ask questions and provide comments on our application and the results of our technical studies and assessments by filling out the Public Engagement Form. Our application and technical study reports are available for review in the resources section of this website.
The Application Review public engagement period will run from Friday, February 28, 2025 – Thursday, March 27, 2025.
Current Facility Use
The property is actively used to service Kiewit’s Canadian marine fleet and other construction equipment. Yard operations generally consist of staging equipment and materials on land, transferring materials to/from barges and fabrication of materials required for our projects.
Currently a disposal-at-sea operation is also conducted from the facility. The Marine Yard has several structures and fixed facilities that were installed by the previous owner, including an office building, truck weigh scale, boat ramp and two marine bulkhead wall structures. A portion of Kiewit’s property at the eastern end of the site is currently leased to Quadrant Towing, which contains a fuel building, floating dock and marine access ramp.
Project Description
Kiewit is planning to build-out the Marine Yard to ensure it meets today’s environmental and engineering standards. Our vision is a modern marine facility that we are proud to showcase to the community. Our build-out improvements will clean up the water lot and include additional environmental offsets.
The following is a summary of the proposed project upgrades, also shown in the figure below.
- Cleanup of the water lot to remove the thick layers of bark mulch, chains and other debris that has accumulated at the site since its development. This includes dredging to increase the water depth for vessels.
- Removing old creosote-soaked timber piles and replacing them with new, steel mooring structures to tie up marine vessels.
- Cleanup and expansion of the foreshore. The yard widening will be completed in an area that is generally composed of wood waste and thick bark mulch, situated above intertidal mud flats. The widening will be composed of structural fills and will be capped with riprap shoreline improvements. The riprap will extend down into the intertidal zone, will help protect the site from erosion, and improve the marine habitat compared with the debris that is currently deposited on site.
- Re-grading, replacement and improvement of the stormwater treatment system, greatly reducing risks of erosion and ensuring better sediment control.
- Construction of new marine access structures including a trestle, conveyor support structure and roll-on/roll-off (RoRo) ramp. All marine structures will be built to current seismic standards, reducing the risk of collapse into the river, and improving the safety of the site for local employees.
- Construction of a shop used for parts storage and maintenance of equipment, so that work can be done in a clean, controlled environment.
- Construction of a new truck weigh scale located in the upland area of the yard, allowing trucks to be weighed when entering the site and again when exiting, all while travelling in one unique direction. This improves worker safety and reduces congestion in the neighborhood caused by external site circulation.
- Construction of a new truck wheel wash located in the upland area of the yard, used to remove dirt from trucks before they leave the yard.
- Construction of buried electrical services used to power equipment and yard lighting at various locations within the yard.
Planning Process
Kiewit is currently in the process of planning and preparing engineering drawings for the Marine Yard upgrades, including civil, marine structural, electrical and environmental components. Construction is proposed to begin in 2025 and extend into summer of 2026. All in-water works will be completed within the fisheries Least Risk Windows [June 16 – September 21 and December 21 – February 28] as defined by Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO).
Environmental Offsets
In addition to the notable improvements of the project upgrade components, environmental compensation will also be constructed to offset the impacts to marine habitat. A 4,900 square metre inter-tidal marsh bench will be constructed at the west end of the yard (habitat compensation area), which will be a dedicated environmentally sensitive area for the yard, located within the intertidal zone. The marsh bench will be constructed by reusing salvageable, clean river bottom dredge material that is removed for the project and will be capped with natural vegetation including various sedges and Baltic rush plants. The habitat compensation area will be constructed with riprap and other features to protect it from erosion and log-debris accumulation.
Archaeology Overview Assessment
As part of the project planning and design phase, Kiewit is currently in consultation with the port authority for a Project Environmental Review Application, and DFO for a Fisheries Act Authorization, both of which are planned for 2024. Kiewit has also hired a professional archaeologist, who completed a preliminary Archaeology Potential Assessment in the fall of 2023. An Archaeology Overview Assessment (AOA) was done in 2024.
Project Impacts and Schedule
The Kiewit Marine Yard, situated at 1950 Brigantine Drive in Coquitlam, BC, operates within a predominantly industrial and commercial zone, with limited public or recreational use. The project is divided across Kiewit-owned land and a port authority leased lot. The project is located near several other waterbodies such as Como Creek, Barker Creek, and Coquitlam River.
While there are no residential areas within 500 meters of the project site currently, the future residential development of Fraser Mills is planned west of Como Creek. Directly west of the Marine Yard lies Don Roberts Park with a nature trail along Como Creek, and to the east lies the Fraser River Greenway park, with trail access from the alleyway at 1950 Brigantine Drive
Potential Impacts
Given the nature of the project and its location within an industrial and commercial area, the primary stakeholders impacted would likely include the businesses in close proximity, residents within a 500-meter radius, and users of nearby parks and nature trails.
The land-based equipment stored and operated at the Kiewit Marine Yard generally includes excavators, delivery trucks, dump trucks, crawler cranes, pile installation equipment, dozers and rollers. Marine-based equipment stored and maintained generally includes material barges, derrick barges, spud barges, dump scow barges and marine pile installation equipment.
The construction activities and use of construction equipment during both the construction and operational phases of the project may lead to temporary increase in air emissions, dust, noise and lighting within the project area. It should be noted that the Kiewit Marine Yard is currently an active facility. The project is expected to improve efficiencies within the yard, however operational activities following the completion are the project are not expected to be much different than current operations.
Some of the construction activities that could affect the nearby communities involve those listed below:
- Dredging – Dredging will involve removal of sediments from the river bottom to deepen the water lot using the clamshell dredging method. Impacts to nearby communities are expected to be minimal, given that the activity will mostly be situated on the water lot, and is not expected to negatively impact navigation. Dredging activity will follow Best Management Practices (BMP) to reduce the impact on the environment.
- Infill expansion – The construction of the infill expansion area will predominantly involve excavation and earthworks, as well as utility installation. Potential impacts may include dust and noise generation.
- Permanent structures – The permanent structures, including the Trestle, Conveyor Structure, RoRo Ramp, and mooring dolphins, require piles to support them. Impacts to nearby communities would generally be limited to noise generation.
Project Schedule
Construction activities will typically occur during the port authority’s standard construction hours from Monday to Saturday, 7:00am to 8:00pm. Some construction outside of these standard hours may be required during favourable tidal conditions. Dredging operations will occur 24 hours a day, 7 days a week during the fisheries least-risk windows. Dredging involves using a crane fixed on a spud barge and a clam shell bucket to excavate the dredge material. A bottom dump scow will be filled to capacity and hauled away.
For more information about the application visit the port authority website project page.
For more information about the PER process visit the port authority website.
For questions about the port authority’s Project and Environmental Review of the proposed project, please contact the port authority at [email protected] or 604.665.9047.