South Fraser Perimeter Road/Highway 17 Extension | Completed

[Stingray2004]

The line-striping has been completed on the bridge deck and the westbound sign gantry has also been installed:

[GMasterAres]

Part of the reason governments spend money on infrastructure in times of trouble is because it is simply the easiest and quickest solution.

1) Construction in downtimes is often one of the first industries hit so getting construction workers working is a good thing.
2) Design and construction of road/transit infrastructure often requires less time before implementation can start than a major project such as a hospital
3) Infrastructure is a design-spend-build-done prospect for the most part (of course there are some maintenance costs) compared to say building a hospital where after completion you must hire doctors, nurses, support staff, open up contracts for support within the facility and those costs go on year after year.
4) The optics of cutting funding from say health or education but building new facilities can be more negative than the uproar by environmentalists against something like Gateway or from road-based industries against new transit.

So in the grand scheme of things, it's just quick and smart to throw money into infrastructure. Let's face it all the infrastructure being done now has needed to be done for a few decades at least. So it's hard to argue too much against it all and it has stimulated the economy to a degree more than building a massive non-infrastructure based project would have.

As for the ratio of how much you get on the dollar, that's pure speculation. There are so many factors, some that have been pointed out such as those people that had their land purchased can now go out and purchase more land or additional places, or families can 'upgrade' or reduce their mortgage footprint meaning they have more money to spend on other things. Also new infrastructure can and typically does increase land value and attracts other industry into the area. More goods flow, industry decides to move into the neighborhood, people decide to move closer to industry where they work, more people to the area, more business moves in, more money into the area.

It is a cycle. Everything boils down to infrastructure and people being able to get from point A to point B. The better you make that flow (not just roads but transit, better walk ways, better area design, etc.) the more it encourages growth and efficiency.

All starts with infrastructure.

[officedweller]

Originally Posted by Stingray2004

The line-striping has been completed on the bridge deck and the westbound sign gantry has also been installed:

Nice.

[BCPhil]

Is the Lougheed/Marry Hill Bypass interchange ready to go too?

[Metro-One]

partially, the main superstructure (the bridge) is ready but the interchange on the west side of the bridge is incomplete and will take another month or two to be finished. Essentially the 4th is a partial opening (4 lanes of the 7 on the bridge).

[Stingray2004]

She's now partially open.

EB:

MHB - continues to utilize 2 lanes on old structure
Hwy 7 - utilizes 2 lanes on new structure

WB:

MHB - utilizes 2 lanes on new structure
Hwy 7 - continues to utilize 2 lanes on old structure

IOW, 4 lanes in each direction until MHB interchange is completed when old structures are shut down. Congestion-free flowing traffic movements starts today.

[Dave2]

Pitt River Bridge opening day:










About a dozen at http://www.flickr.com/photos/69965333@N00/sets/72157622516144650/

[Metro-One]

Cool, thanks for the pics. I will be driving this tomorrow!

This must be the first time ever in Metro-Vancouver that we have had two major new bridge openings in the same year.

[deasine]

Drivers get sneak preview of Pitt River Bridge

Updated: Sun Oct. 04 2009 13:46:58

ctvbc.ca

Drivers got a glimpse into the future of travel between Pitt Meadows and Port Coquitlam Sunday with a partial opening of the new Pitt River Bridge.

The completed crossing will have three lanes heading west and four heading east. The counterflow lane will no longer exist.

The $198 million bridge is part of the province's Gateway program, which is aimed at reducing congestion. It also includes twinning the Port Mann Bridge.

Commuters are hoping the new bridge will cut down on their driving time.

"I drive over Pitt River and Port Mann to get to work so it'll hopefully alleviate a lot of congestion for me," one driver told CTV News.

The province will front $108 million of the cost for the new bridge, with the federal government kicking in the other $90 million.

The province says the new Pitt River Bridge has been designed to accommodate future rapid transit.

"I think that's the beauty of the current program," Gateway Executive Director Geoff Freer said.

"Actually there's some excellent new bike lanes and pedestrian space on the north side of the new bridge."

While drivers got a preview this weekend, the real test will be Monday's rush hour. The bridge is set to open completely sometime later this fall.

With a report from CTV British Columbia's Maria Weisgarber

Source: CTV Globemedia

[Stingray2004]

One matter that has always escaped me... How could the PRB have a 7-lane cross-section when the cable-stayed towers were equi-distant from each other. Shouldn't that equate to an 8-lane cross-section?

Anyhoo, being out in PoCo on Saturday (prior to the opening) and travelling over the old bridges and back from the Dewdney Trunk Rd./Kennedy Rd. intersection I finally received my answer.

The 4th WB lane has been corralled off by a non-cast-in-place median barrier topped with a metal guard rail to permit pedestrians/cyclists to use that lane à la the 3rd SB lane on the Burrard St. Bridge.

While the 3rd WB lane on the PRB splits off to the MHB, the MHB split expands to 2 lanes over the Hwy 7 overpass. Fancy that.

[metroXpress]

Thanks for the update! Great to see these new bridges!

[DKaz]

The bridge looked pretty cool from what I could see out of my overcrowded 791 bus lol. Can't wait to drive on it to get a better look!

[SpongeG]

are all the overpasses open too? or do you still have to line up at the traffic lights?

[DKaz]

Nope, they couldn't complete the flyover until the counterflow lanes were closed. Should be another two months until that's done. I think the left turn pattern from Mary Hill Bypass to Lougheed Hwy has to wait until after the existing bridges are demolished before they are shifted to underneath the new Pitt River Bridge as per the design drawings.

[officedweller]

Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows Times :

Four lanes open - November for the rest

The Times


Tuesday, October 06, 2009


Two eastbound and two westbound lanes on the Pitt River bridge opened to traffic Sunday and the full bridge should be completed by the end of November.

Geoff Freer, executive director of the Ministry of Transportation's Gateway program, said it all depends on the weather.

The new bridge will have three lanes westbound, four lanes eastbound and will be 16 metres tall, 500 metres long and 45 metres wide. There will also be a 3.5 metre sidewalk for cyclists and pedestrians and allowance for a future eighth lane for HOV traffic and rapid bus or rapid transit. When the bridge is completed drivers won't have to stop at a light before travelling between the Mary Hill Bypass and the bridge.

Freer pointed out that with the new bridge there will only be two piers in the water compared to 18 with the old bridge, which he said would be "excellent" from a fisheries, environmental and marine traffic perspective.

Demolition of the old swing bridge will begin as soon as the new bridge is open and it's expected to be completely removed by June 21, 2010. Freer said there's a requirement for the bridge material to be recycled.

Councillor Craig Speirs said the new bridge will dramatically improve the quality of life of local residents and people all the way up the Fraser Valley.

Mayor Ernie Daykin said he knows there are no plans for a bridge party like was the case with Golden Ears but he said he'd still like to see some kind of celebration because the bridge is a "big deal" for local residents.

He jokingly asked if the swing bridge could be left open one more time for old time's sake.

© Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows Times 2009

[lightrail]

Originally Posted by Stingray2004

. Congestion-free flowing traffic movements starts today.

... and will end in about 5 years when traffic builds and the bridge is once again congested. I remember when Alex Fraser Bridge opened, no lineups, diverted traffic from the tunnel. Now look at it.

Anthony Down's Triple Convergence at work - look for:
- Temporal Convergence - people who used to drive earlier or later to now drive during the peak times, increasing peak traffic on the bridge
- Spatial Convergence - people who used to drive by another route now taking this one (okay, so there aren't any other routes really so this convergence doesn't really count)
- Modal Convergence - people who used to take the bus or car pool, will now opt to drive because of the increased capacity and perceived reduction in congestion

[WarrenC12]

Why is the bridge 7 lanes and not 8?

Tolling would solve your problems, but... political suicide.

[DKaz]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

Why is the bridge 7 lanes and not 8?

Tolling would solve your problems, but... political suicide.

Because they build the pedestrian/cycling lane inside the bridge pillars. They have the option of moving it outside and creating a 4th westbound lane if required.

[Stingray2004]

As with the Granville Street Bridge in 1954, MoT used long-term foresight in constructing an 8-lane structure, instead of a 6-lane structure for the PRB.

Currently, the PRB has a 7-lane cross-section with the 8th WB lane closed off for pedestrians/ cyslists.

[The 8th lane] would be created by converting the 3.5-metre-wide pedestrian/cycle path into the eighth lane and attaching the sidewalk, currently for cyclists and pedestrians, on to the north side of the bridge.

http://www.bclocalnews.com/tri_city_maple_ridge/mapleridgenews/news/63614162.html

During public pre-consultation studies:

There was little support for the use of HOV lanes in this transportation corridor.

http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/gateway/reports/PRB_MHI_Final_Rpt_EXEC_SUMMARY.pdf

However, the long-term plan is to convert one lane of the PRB for HOV/rapid bus all the way to Coquitlam to meet up with the Evergreen Line.

If the Alex Fraser Bridge was never constructed, traffic on Oak St. would be an all day parking lot probably up to 41st Ave. So much for the quality of life that would bring.

It's actually too bad that MoT did not have the foresight to construct an 8-lane AFB considering that the 91 will eventually be upgraded to 6-lanes and the 91A feeds further traffic onto the AFB and off to Nordel Way at the southern bridgehead. The 8th lane would have operated as an auxilary lane providing smoother traffic flow for 91A/Nordel Way.

Some interesting stats from today:

Canadians remain resolutely tied to their vehicles -- on average, 82 per cent still use them as their main means of conveyance to work (although urban transit usage is higher), a number that hasn't changed for at least 17 years.

On average, a public transit user in Canada will spend at least 41 more minutes each day riding than a car commuter.

http://autos.canada.com/news/story.html?id=2071737

In Metro Vancouver, many people travel all over the region, all day long. It's no longer a suburb to downtown commute. And rapid buses utilize the same bridge crossings.

[BCPhil]

AFB wouldn't be so bad if they got rid of the light at 72nd. It really slows down traffic onto the bridge in the morning, and in the evening the fast lane is usually stopped waiting for space in the left turn lanes. It causes chaos.

However, outside peak hours, the AFB is smooth sailing and is never a problem in the reverse direction.

As well, the AFB was built before the full impact of Expo was realized. Construction started in 1983, and when it opened it was the longest cable stayed bridge in the world, quite an engineering feat. No one in their right mind would have contemplated the growth we see South of the Fraser.

Fortunately, we now know the growth potential of the lower mainland, and can finally build infrastructure that can meet future needs.