Nobody was injured when a shoring wall collapsed into the foundation excavation of a condo construction site in Coquitlam Wednesday evening.
The incident occurred at a project at 500 Foster Ave.
Foster Avenue has been closed to traffic between North Road and Whiting Way. According to a social media post from the city, “emergency work is underway and crews will continue to work throughout the night.”
In a video obtained by the Tri-City News, a large crack appears in the excavation’s concrete shoring wall, near scaffolding used by workers to access the deep hole. The concrete then begins to fall away, releasing a cascade of soil and rock into the excavation.
According to a statement from Andrew Merrill, Coquitlam’s general manager of planning and development,a shoring wall is a temporary structure that supports a construction site during excavation. He said work will begin “immediately” to repair the wall “to ensure no further failures."
Merrill said the work might take several days.
“We apologize to area residents for the noise of overnight work.”
Merrill added the work will be supervised by the developer’s professional geotechnical engineers.
“It is not expected that there is any risk to infrastructure or buildings beyond the immediate area of failure.".
A spokesperson for WorksafeBC confirms its officers are on site.
“We are monitoring the site and remain in contact with the site supervisors,” said Ashley Gregerson government and media relations advisor.
