Road closures, SkyTrain delays expected in Vancouver this weekend

It might be prudent to add extra time to your travel plans this weekend as Vancouver is expected to be fairly busy with a high volume of cruise ships arriving, the closure of the Burrard Street for repaving, and delays for SkyTrain upgrades.

There are a number of road closures in effect for the weekend.

The largestis the full closure of Burrard Street from Davie Street to Fourth Avenue (including the Burrard Bridge) for repaving on Saturday from 4 a.m. to 1 p.m. PT. The city recommends drivers use the Granville Bridge and Cambie Bridge as alternate routes.

Viaduct closed Sunday morning

Another closure of note is roadwork on East Broadway fromCommercialDrive to Main Street. One lane westbound and two lanes eastbound will remain open, however.

Homer Street will be closed for the Word Vancouver festival from Robson Street to West Georgia Street from Saturday 7 a.m. to Sunday at 11 p.m.

The Georgia Street viaduct and Prior Street will be closed for the Walk for Reconciliation on Sunday from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.

A list of other ongoing construction projects can be found on the City of Vancouver's roadwork site: vancouver.ca/roadwork.

A spokesperson from the city says it anticipates a high volume of cruise ships throughout the weekend which could contribute to higher traffic volumes in the downtown core.

TransLink delays

TransLink is also advising passengers of possible delays as it is replacing rail on the Expo Line SkyTrain route.

This weekend, contractors are replacing a curved section near the Main StreetScience World station. Trains will use one track in both directions at Main StreetScience World and CommercialBroadway stations from10:30 p.m. Saturday until 3 p.m. Sunday.

Expo Line passengers should allow for15 to 20 minutes of extra travel time.

Jill Drews, a TransLink representative, says the contractor needed the continuous stretch of time to complete the complicated section.

"We have been doing a lot of this work overnight when possible but this job is a little bit different," Drewssaid.

"We've done our best throughout this project to keep the impacts as low as possible. That's why we've chosen to do this on a weekend."

Once the rails are replaced, Drews says SkyTrain passengers will notice a smoother, quieter ride.

With files from Deb Goble