Fraser River officials applaud decision on dredged sand
The Fraser River Port Authority on Friday released a statement commending the British Columbia’s Master Municipal Construction Document Association for approving the use of dredged river sand in roadway construction.
The approval allows river sand to be used for road excavation, embankment and compaction as well as for bedding and surrounding pipes, the statement said. Previously river sand was only approved as preload, piled on sites to compress the ground prior to construction.
Sand sales help the port authority offset a small portion of the multimillion-dollar cost to dredge the main shipping channel to maintain a depth of 11.5 meters. The Fraser River Port Authority removes roughly two million cubic meters of sand from the shipping channel each year.