An international consortium will build the South Fraser Perimeter Road (SFPR) in a $658-million deal signed Thursday.
The project, which figures prominently in the provincial government’s Gateway program, will extend 40 kilometres along the south side of the Fraser River from Deltaport Way to 176th Street in Surrey.
“The South Fraser Perimeter Road will remove trucks and regional traffic from community streets and put them back on the highway where they belong,” said transportation minister Shirley Bond. “The SFPR will improve economic and business opportunities in Delta and Surrey. It has been part of regional plans for the past 20 years.”
The consortium, known as the Fraser Transportation Group, includes:
The agreement between the province and Fraser Transportation is a fixed-price contract to design, build, finance and operate the road for 20 years. The deal includes $200 million in private sector financing. The consortium assumes all risks associated with the construction, cost and scheduling of the project. A completion date for the project was not provided.
The SFPR project has sparked debate in recent years among local politicians over the use of the agricultural land reserve in Delta. (See “Legal battle kicks off South Fraser Perimeter Road construction project” – issue 999, Dec. 16-22, 2008)
The province also announced it would increased the SFPR’s environmental and agricultural mitigation and enhancement budget by $57 million for a total of $88 million.