The main entrance to Edmonton’s Chinatown was taken down early Sunday morning to make way for the Valley Line LRT construction.
Crews removed the gate around 1:30 a.m. and moved it from 97 Street and 102 Avenue to a storage facility in Cromdale.
TransEd issued a parking and noise notice ahead of the weekend: Parking will not be allowed around about five stretches (see photo) from Friday night until Sunday night, and an overnight roadwork permit was obtained to minimize daytime traffic.
This construction – which was supposed to take place last spring but was delayed due to other projects in the area – is unlike anything crews in the city have worked on.
“This is 161,000 kilograms, so something like this has never been done before – certainly in the City of Edmonton,” TransEd spokesperson Dean Heuman said.
The Chinese community is upset to lose a representation of the relationship between Edmonton and Harbin, their sister city in China, and their association held a candlelight vigil Saturday night to say goodbye.
“We’ll see what happens in the future. If we can resurrect, or incorporate part of that to our new gate, and that is if we get a new gate,” Chinese Benevolent Association Secretary Sandy Pon said.
With files from Nicole Weisberg
