Another several hour long shutdown of the TCH due to a major accident at Three Valley Gap

https://www.vernonmorningstar.com/ne...icle-accident/

Yup. Costing the economy millions of dollars every year, but our governments cannot seem to get their heads around this and find the money to improve things.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calga...n-up-1.4944417

Question: On the right, it says "must carry tire chain". Does that mean both winter tires and chains are mandatory? (Or am I just reading too much into it?)

Just chains. It’s for large commercial vehicles

Are winter tires redundant if chains are on?? I'm curious because I've never chained my vehicle (because in Ontario it's only permitted in the north).

No kidding - what an absolute joke. :hell:

Large commercial vehicles don’t run winter tires. They’re required to carry chains so that they can navigate roads in winter conditions. Generally there are signals at key points such as the start of the Coquihalla that tell drivers when they need to chain up.

Passenger vehicles should really never require chains if they’re running good tires. There are exceptions in the mountainous regions in BC. When I lived in Nelson in the winter you’d see the police cars and ambulances running cable chains when it snowed

I hear you, but 1 lane is for local traffic from the west side. The 5 lane option was better than the one 4 lane option that involved a left turn onto the highway... https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/dr...maryreport.pdf

^ Thanks for posting that info Glacier, it explains why the 5-lane design is better.

Any update on timing? Is it under detailed design now? Has funding been secured? Will it be under construction in 2020? :D

I would rather construction doesn't start until NDP gets booted. The construction cost should be lower then. ;)

https://globalnews.ca/news/4900834/b...minister-says/

“We’re reviewing the project to widen HWY 1 between Langley and Abby” they said. ;)

It is obvious in this situation that the NDP are caught between a rock and a hard place.

The 3rd lane expansion is needed without a doubt, but the NDP don’t wan’t to appear pro highway expansion (look at Pattullo opening with 4 lanes, and the GMB fiasco).

But then on the flip side any “alternative” solution for Abbotsford would require a major commitment (such as rail) that they are not willing to fund / seriously propose. This would be far more expensive than simply adding the third lane.

I honestly have no idea what they will do about it. Swallow the pill and continue with the project, delay it until the Liberals are in power again, or (worse of all) make a shitty bus system that runs alongside the highway shoulders... (I really hope they don’t do such a Mickey Mouse option). A real bus system would require entirely new lanes.

Buses on the shoulder during rush hour as an interim solution? It's not necessarily a bad option. That's what Kitchener (and Cambridge) in Ontario have.

But it won’t be interim, look at the 99, been that for years, and now if they do replace the GMT they may keep that “temporary” solution instead of taking the opportunity to build a real bus system.

Remember, this is the place where counter flow systems last 30+ years and loved odd lane bridges.

Heh, what can you do when bridges need to be very high in order for big vessels to go through and there's no federal funding (*cough cough* Pont Champlain)...

I was looking at the most recent (June 2018) google streetview of TCH East between Pritchard and Chase, and horrified to see that there is absolutely no passing opportunity in between. :runaway:

They are absolutely NOT caught between a rock and a hard place whatsoever. Any time a decision becomes politicized then it is being made for the wrong reasons. This project is either needed economically or it is not. If it is needed then build it, if it is not then don't. Doesn't matter who is in Government or what their philosophy is.

"Any time a decision becomes politicized then it is being made for the wrong reasons."

That has already happened though. For instance, the project to widen TCH between Pritchard and Chase has been delayed to this year (when it was supposed to begin last year). From what I saw on the most recent google street view, the widening is badly needed.

Oh I realize that, and it happens everywhere (not just BC). And is pi$$es me off because there is no reason for it, politicians are putting themselves ahead of the population when they do this.

Doesn’t the shoulder turn into a de facto third lane during peak congestion anyways ? It’s been a while since I drove from the valley into Vancouver but I seem to remember drivers peeling down the shoulder when the TCH is all backed up