'Disruptive and inconvenient': Granville SkyTrain station escalator shutdown to last 2 years

TransLink is warning SkyTrain riders to expect disruption and increased congestion at the GranvilleSkyTrain station, as contractorsbegin a two-year-long overhaul of the station's three major escalators.

The work began Saturday, May 26 and crewswill completely rebuild the escalators which, according to TransLink, are the longest in the Lower Mainland.

Passengers must access the SkyTrain from the Dunsmuir Street entrance for roughly24 months, which has elevators.

"We fully understand that two years is a long time,"said TransLinkvice president of engineering SanyZein. "This will be disruptive and inconvenient."

He said additional staff and plenty of signswill be put in place to help people find their way.

"It will be more congested. We want our customers to expect that," said Zein.

Two new fare gates have been installed at the Dunsmuirentrance in an attempt to keep things moving, but TransLink is suggesting people give themselves a few extra minutes to navigate the station access and deal with congestion.

Replacement will cost $14.5M

According to Zein, the three 35-metre escalators have to all be closed at once, as crews overhaul one at a time. Since they're enclosed in a tunnel, workers need one to use as a workspace, and the third to use to move crews and equipment up and down.

Along with three smaller escalators being worked on at the Granville station, the maintenance is expected to cost $14.5 million.

TransLinkreleased an animated video explaining the project, as well as the route passengers will have to take at theGranvillestation:

Zeinsaid all of the SkyTrainsystem escalators that were built in the 1980s are nearing the end of their service lifeand need to be replaced.

He said preventative maintenance has been done onthe escalators at the Dunsmuir entrance, in hopes that they keep running smoothly during the two-year closure.

"Worst case scenario, if those escalators fail for any reason, we may need to close the station, so we have those contingency plans," said Zein.

According to TransLink, about 30,000 people use the three main escalators in an average weekday, and, in a year, each escalator willtravel 12,744 kilometres.

"These escalators have been work horses in the system," said Zein.

The SkyTrain system's 37 escalators at 13 stations will all need similar maintenance, but work on those will be rolled out gradually.

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