BC Highway Construction

[Repthe250]

Yet another head on collision death on the TCH in B.C., today. I feel like I’m reading this headline once a week.

[Dengler Avenue]

https://skyscraperpage.com/forum/showthread.php?t=151987&page=149 #2968
Does anyone know Salmon Arm well enough to know whether it’s feasible to slip the bypass through the green space as shown?
The mountain to the south is too steep. Swinging the bypass that way requires substantially reconstructing the newly built Interchange 478.

[Metro-One]

The topography isn’t too bad, but I think it’s a stream green belt, which is essentially a no go. It also still requires too much neighborhood destruction to ever fly in the municipality.

I’m 99.9% sure that the only bypass option that would ever be tolerated is one that swings as far south as south of 20th Ave at its most extended point to avoid any build up neighborhoods.

[Dengler Avenue]

Can someone find me a somewhat accurate topographical map for Salmon Arm in that case? Google map isn’t all that reliable.
I just want to show why Interchange 478 will have to be substantially redone.

Ps: A quick search on Google shows that the mountain behind Salmon Arm is composed of crustal igneous and metamorphic rocks uplifted and folded during tectonic activities. On one hand, igneous and metamorphic rocks are stronger than sedimentary rocks seen in the Rockies, so they’re more resistant to erosion. On the other hand, extensive geotechnical investigations will be needed to make sure that the mountain won’t come down (à la Hope Slide) if the bypass goes through there. Here’s a case study: https://dalspaceb.library.dal.ca/server/...3dd4-4c5e-4524-9869-7ee748bd4c7d/content

[Metro-One]

Igneous rock formations also require a lot of blasting. You ain’t digging through that stuff. Looking at the general grades of the area it’s not too challenging. The highway wouldn’t need to reach too far into the hill on the southern end (if at all).

[Dengler Avenue]

Originally Posted by Metro-One

Igneous rock formations also require a lot of blasting. You ain’t digging through that stuff. Looking at the general grades of the area it’s not too challenging. The highway wouldn’t need to reach too far into the hill on the southern end (if at all).

The highway won’t reach too far into the hill, but even then, the elevation south of 20 Avenue is 540 m, whereas the farm field on the west side of the town has an elevation of 360 m. With ~180 m of relief, if I really want to be cheap and use a 7% grade instead of 5% for the freeway, I still need 2.6 km of horizontal distance. (Anything steeper than 7% is technically no good for a freeway, and yes, I do believe that the 8.5% grades on Coquihalla Pass are substandard.)

[Metro-One]

You can trench to help ease the grade.

This is done often hear in Japan.

[Dengler Avenue]

Originally Posted by Metro-One

You can trench to help ease the grade.

This is done often hear in Japan.

Cut on the east side, fill on the west side, that could work, as long as people don’t find 40-m-tall rock fill in the middle of the farmland to be an eyesore.

Ps: I just realized that we could technically use overpasses in that case to avoid outrageous rock fills. This is starting to feel like China.

[Metro-One]

If you terrace the rock fill and plant greenery, it honestly wouldn’t look bad a few years after completion.

[dmuzika]

Originally Posted by Dengler Avenue

The highway won’t reach too far into the hill, but even then, the elevation south of 20 Avenue is 540 m, whereas the farm field on the west side of the town has an elevation of 360 m. With ~180 m of relief, if I really want to be cheap and use a 7% grade instead of 5% for the freeway, I still need 2.6 km of horizontal distance. (Anything steeper than 7% is technically no good for a freeway, and yes, I do believe that the 8.5% grades on Coquihalla Pass are substandard.)

I've seen it suggested in the past that the solution is a bridge across a portion of Shuswap Lake. I'm no engineer or geologist, but considering the topography around the lake, especially in the Sicamous area, a southern bypass that possibly goes up the mountain might be a more realistic option.

[craner]

Reposting this here from the TCH thread in the Canada section to get in on the Salmon Arm fun:

“In an ideal world we could just build from Salmon Arm to Pritchard and lop off that whole northern loop through Tappen-Sorrento-Chase. But alas, no ideal world (mountains and stuff).”

[Dengler Avenue]

https://skyscraperpage.com/forum/showthread.php?t=151987&page=149 #2975
At least I tried.

[flipper316]

https://www.langleyadvancetimes.com/loca...ge-work-continues-through-summer-8088318

[craner]

It’s comical that they refuse to add any general purpose lanes to the TCH in the lower mainland. I guess it’s only been the way it is now (2 each direction) for about 70 years - not THAT much more traffic.

[Vantage]

Originally Posted by craner

It’s comical that they refuse to add any general purpose lanes to the TCH in the lower mainland. I guess it’s only been the way it is now (2 each direction) for about 70 years - not THAT much more traffic.

That's because adding highway lanes is apparently severely offensive to some people who just learned the term "induced demand" from a TikTok. They don't realise that sometimes new lanes are actually needed, otherwise every single road would be 1 lane wide.

[Metro-One]

The highway will be 3.5 (2 general purpose, 1 HOV and a bus on shoulder lane) to 4.5 (2 general purpose lanes, 1 HOV lane, a bus on shoulder, and 1 climbing lane that will be kilometers long in parts) wide for it's length.

Not ideal, but also not terrible, especially when combined with the new rebuilt interchanges and replacement of all low clearance overpasses.

A 7/10 project.

The rebuild of highway 1 from the tunnel to 200th was a 9/10 project (would have been 10/10 if they didn't remove the collector system near Willington)

The SFPR was a 5/10 project, but the new Sunbury interchanges have pushed it up to 6/10, and the new Old Yale Rr. overpass and soon to be direct Pattullo Bridge southbound to SFPR westbound connection will bump it up to 6.5/10 (an interchange at 80th street will then make it 7/10)

The George Massey Tunnel project is another 5/10. The tunnel itself is fine, but all the details in the road design / interchanges / bus system outside of the tunnel are awful. Sucks, because the original project was another 9/10.

[craner]

^Yeah - too bad the bridge to replace the Massey tunnel didn’t get built - it would be open by now wouldn’t it ?

[Repthe250]

This province NEEDS to stop voting NDP. Shit. The Liberals at least got shit done. The NDP is literally anti progress.

[RHINO]

REPTHE250

I agree 100%

[craner]

There hasn’t been any new projects announced regarding the “Highway 1 - Kamloops to Alberta - Four Laning” initiative in quite a while (like years). It would be a shame to lose momentum on this but there is now only one project “Under Development”. Five are “Under Construction” which is good.

Project website:
http://https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/transportation-projects/highway1-kamloops-alberta

Wondering if the NDP in power in BC has anything to do with the lack of new projects. Hopefully the Federal Liberals “Nation Building” projects push will advance the twinning of the TCH in BC. I’m still concerned with Steven Guilbeault in Federal Cabinet, Mr. “we don’t need to expand the existing road & highway network and we will not be dedicating any money to do so”.
Would at least be nice to complete twinning through Yoho NP.