Deltaport, at Roberts Bank in Delta, BC, is the largest container terminal in Canada, with a current capacity of 1.8 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent unit containers). Current road and rail constraints limit the capacity of Deltaport to meet forecast demand for additional container movements.
As part of the Container Capacity Improvement Program, Port Metro Vancouver has worked with the Province of B.C. and Deltaport operator TSI Terminal Systems Inc. to develop a plan to upgrade existing infrastructure that would increase Deltaport’s container capacity by 600,000 TEUs, to a total of 2.4 million TEUs.
The Deltaport Terminal, Road and Rail Improvement Project (DTRRIP) is an efficient and cost-effective plan to increase container capacity through improvements to existing port infrastructure. Project improvements will be implemented mostly within the existing terminal, road and rail footprint and will have a low potential for environmental impact. Work will not occur within the marine environment.
The project has four key elements:
1. An overpass on the existing Roberts Bank causeway that will separate road and rail traffic;
2. Reconfiguration of rail track and additional container handling equipment within the existing Deltaport Terminal;
3. Additional rail track within the existing railway corridor and a portion of the Option Lands; and
4. Road Improvements on Deltaport Way to improve the movement of container trucks at Deltaport.
On January 24, the federal government announced that it will be contributing a maximum of $19.9 million, through its Asia-Pacific Gateway and Corridor Initiative (APGCI), to a $45-million overpass on the Deltaport Causeway, part of Port Metro Vancouver’s Deltaport Terminal, Road and Rail Improvement Project. The overpass will improve the efficiency, safety and fluidity of traffic to and from the terminal, by eliminating conflicts between rail and truck traffic. The project involves the construction of a two-lane overpass that will provide grade separation between rail tracks and the Deltaport Causeway access road adjacent to the Deltaport Container Terminal. The grade separation will contribute up to 200,000 twenty-foot equivalent units of additional capacity annually at Deltaport.
“The Deltaport Terminal, Road and Rail Improvement Project will increase capacity and efficiency within our existing footprint,” said Robin Silvester, President and CEO, Port Metro Vancouver. “This project increases industrial density, adding container capacity at Roberts Bank, while easing the impacts of a growing port on nearby communities.”
The causeway overpass is the first component of the Project to be built and Port Metro Vancouver has entered into a Design-Build agreement with the Dragados Canada/Jacob Bros Construction Joint-Venture for the design and construction of the overpass.
