Image: Mike Vanden Bosch / Pattison Media

By Mike Vanden Bosch

Watson Road project

Chilliwack councillors advance Watson Road project to next stage, but construction bottlenecks loom

Dec 29, 2025 | 12:12 AM

CHILLIWACK — The City of Chilliwack is moving forward with a design-build project on Watson Road that it says will increase traffic safety, facilitate more efficient vehicular movements and enhance pedestrian infrastructure.

Chilliwack councillors voted on Dec. 16 to advance three proponent companies to the RFP stage for the proposed 1.3-kilometre Watson Road design-build project between Tyson Road and Vedder Road. The unanimous vote authorized city staff to forward request for proposal documents to the following companies: Ballina Contracting Ltd./McElhanney Engineering Services Ltd.; B&B Heavy Civil Construction Ltd./Aplin & Martin Consultants Ltd.; and Sandpiper Contracting LLP/Wedler Engineering LLP.

Of the three proponent companies, Ballina Contracting Ltd./ McElhanney Engineering Services Ltd. earned the highest score by an evaluation committee, based on the information and details provided on relevant projects that proponent team members have completed.

The project calls for widening and upgrading about 1,300 metres of Watson Road between Tyson Road and Vedder Road, featuring drainage works, sanitary works, paving, street lighting, crosswalk signal works, curb and gutter, sidewalk, multi-use pathway, street trees and landscaping.

Not all of Watson Road between Tyson Road and Vedder Road will undergo road reconstruction, according to the city’s own map, but the majority of it will.

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According to a Dec. 5, 2025 staff report prepared by Doug Mossey, manager of transportation and drainage for the City of Chilliwack, the city plans to combine this transportation improvement project with a sanitary utility upgrade to deliver the project in the most efficient and cost-effective manner while minimizing impacts to the neighbourhood.

The staff report touts increased traffic capacity, more efficient vehicular movements, enhanced safety and increased pedestrian and cycling infrastructure as just some of the project benefits. However, Chilliwack residents have spoken up on social media about similar projects on Knight Road, saying the roadway became much narrower for motorists compared to what it once was.

The city says public engagement with the neighbourhood and stakeholder groups will be included as the detailed design advances.

It remains unclear how the city will mitigate construction traffic on Watson Road, a key thoroughfare in Sardis, something Tyson Road motorists between South Sumas and Watson Road repeatedly encountered when it underwent similar construction throughout 2024 and into 2025.

An image attached to the staff report indicates the multi-use path on the north side of Watson Road will be approximately 3.0 metres wide, adjacent to a 1.5-m boulevard, and complemented by a 0.15-m curb. The travel lanes are projected to be 3.3 metres wide (10.8 feet), along with a left-turn lane of approximately 3.5 metres (11.4 feet) in the centre of Watson Road. For reference, the sidewalk on the south side of Watson is estimated to be 1.8 metres wide.

Image: City of Chilliwack / An image depicting the suggested widths of the Watson Road travel lanes, a left-turn lane, and the proposed multi-use pathway on the north side of Watson.

The estimated $6.5 million project price tag is being funded by development cost charges (DCCs). As defined by the B.C. government, municipalities and regional districts levy development cost charges on new development to pay for new or expanded infrastructure such as sewer, water, drainage, parks, roads, solid waste and recycling facilities, fire protection facilities, and police facilities necessary to adequately service the demands of that new development.