Port Mann/Highway 1 Improvements | Completed

[officedweller]

Found these on Flickr - includes some from inside one of the towers:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/beinder/sets/72157627977209851/with/6737966707/

[dharper]

It is a little late, but I remembered, and found the time to look this up again. It was brought up a couple of weeks ago, and I found it on the PMH1 website. It offers conflicting answer as to whether the added lanes stop at 216th or 202nd. You decide.

This is from the PMH1project website:

Two new highway lanes are being added in each direction from the Port Mann Bridge to 200 Street in Langley. From the 200 Street Interchange to 216 Street, one new lane is being added in each direction.

Improvements beyond 202 Street are not part of the current Design-Build agreement construction scope and are scheduled to be completed within the 2031 timeframe.

[DKaz]

A number of things were nixed from the scope of work so I wouldn't be surprised if 202-216 was also removed.

[peterprinciple]

Originally Posted by DKaz

A number of things were nixed from the scope of work so I wouldn't be surprised if 202-216 was also removed.

Webcam images clearly show expansion of the highway east from 202 - 216. I have family in Abbotsford and we travel that route every few weeks. The highway is definately being widened there.

[PaperTiger]

I know that a 216 interchange was originally contemplated with the gateway project and that was definitely removed from the scope of work. I thought the lanes were still a go, as peterprinciple said.

[DKaz]

We don't even have to slow down for the construction zone until around 208 St though and they haven't done anything (as of a month ago) east of 208 St.

[go_leafs_go02]

They removed all the trees up to 216 Street, but from what I remember, they're adding an extra lane heading eastbound, but westbound, they're not. I haven't been in BC since September when I moved back, but I keep tabs on the project from time to time.

It makes sense in a way westbound not to add until 202 or 200 Street if there is no interchange there...
I do have to laugh that they don't see the need for any improvements along Highway 1 through Langley or Abbotsford until 2031..... Yeah right....

[Zassk]

No doubt it is just scope control... a (comparatively) cheap expansion of lanes out to Abbotsford or Chilliwack would make for a nice pre-election announcement for the premier in the middle of the next term...

[trofirhen]

Thank you everbody involved for all the great updates on this. I can't be there to see it, so I can only look at the information progress and the diagrams of the finished project.

So ... may I ask those of you who will .... to imagine. What would it feel like to cross the bridge, to do the Cape Horn interchange, and how might the impending impression of the awaiting city be perceived someone driving westward into it... perhaps returning after many years, or perhaps visiting for the first time?

[go_leafs_go02]

Originally Posted by trofirhen

So ... may I ask those of you who will .... to imagine. What would it feel like to cross the bridge, to do the Cape Horn interchange, and how might the impending impression of the awaiting city be perceived someone driving westward into it... perhaps returning after many years, or perhaps visiting for the first time?

"oh hey, Vancouver, and British Columbia finally decided to join the rest of North America with a modern highway!" My dad lived in Vancouver in 1980, and he was shocked the highway was pretty much the exact same as when he lived there 30 years ago when he visited in summer 2010.

The bridge is impressive, but the Cape Horn interchange isn't really anything superb compared to most urban major interchanges. It'll be great for traffic, but certainly not awe inspiring if you're coming from Alberta or Seattle.

I'm thrilled it's being built, and mostly happy with what's going on, but I've personally felt the Gateway program is/was 15 years late, and at times am surprised it took this long to build.

[Pinion]

Originally Posted by trofirhen

So ... may I ask those of you who will .... to imagine. What would it feel like to cross the bridge, to do the Cape Horn interchange, and how might the impending impression of the awaiting city be perceived someone driving westward into it... perhaps returning after many years, or perhaps visiting for the first time?

The big box furniture stores on the Coquitlam side are not exactly impressive. The city is still a long way to the west. If anything the bridge seems comically oversized right now (though I applaud the government for planning for the future).

[Metro-One]

Originally Posted by go_leafs_go02

"oh hey, Vancouver, and British Columbia finally decided to join the rest of North America with a modern highway!" My dad lived in Vancouver in 1980, and he was shocked the highway was pretty much the exact same as when he lived there 30 years ago when he visited in summer 2010.

The bridge is impressive, but the Cape Horn interchange isn't really anything superb compared to most urban major interchanges. It'll be great for traffic, but certainly not awe inspiring if you're coming from Alberta or Seattle.

I'm thrilled it's being built, and mostly happy with what's going on, but I've personally felt the Gateway program is/was 15 years late, and at times am surprised it took this long to build.

Seattle has several very impressive multi stacked interchanges, but I fail to see any interchanges n Alberta that are any more impressive than the new Cape Horn. And yes, i have been to both Edmonton and Calgary recently and have been watching both of their highway projects on this forum. Neither city has any true elevated multi stacked interchanges. In fact most of the new "big" ones in Alberta are akin to how the 99 meets the 91 interchange is designed. The new Cape Horn most certainly contends with them.

[Mousey]

That new 152nd offramp isn't confusing at all as long as you aren't staring at the vehicle in front of you the whole time. My biggest fear was that it would be like how the 72nd offramp from the 91 SB acts. You''ll go from doing 110+ across the bridge to slamming on the brakes because some idiot decided to get in the lane two miles early for the exit and travel at 80. Tonight, for me this was not the case, a few weavers but a good line of at least 15 cars were travelling at 100 up the hill and never hit the brakes once. Maybe in rush hour it behaves differently, but at night (9:30pm) it's a breeze. AM730 kept warning drivers every chance they got, so maybe it's working...

[SpongeG]

there are plans for at least 3 towers south of hwy #1 in coquitlam along united blvd, one at the casino, a hotel/conference addition and two for the new residential community near king edward

i am sure the new tower on blue mountain will be visible from hwy #1 too

[DKaz]

Originally Posted by Metro-One

Seattle has several very impressive multi stacked interchanges, but I fail to see any interchanges n Alberta that are any more impressive than the new Cape Horn. And yes, i have been to both Edmonton and Calgary recently and have been watching both of their highway projects on this forum. Neither city has any true elevated multi stacked interchanges. In fact most of the new "big" ones in Alberta are akin to how the 99 meets the 91 interchange is designed. The new Cape Horn most certainly contends with them.

Anthony Henday at QE2 in Edmonton is a nice compact true three level interchange. Too bad all the new major interchanges built after are sprawled out and unimpressive, like Stoney Trail and QE2 in Calgary, even though the ST EB to QE2 SB movement gets pretty high in the air.

Problem is, during winter time, it's scary to think that you could hit a patch of black ice and go flying off the flyover.

[red-paladin]

Originally Posted by go_leafs_go02

"oh hey, Vancouver, and British Columbia finally decided to join the rest of North America with a modern highway!".....

Uh... It's more than that. Give credit where credit is due.

I am not sure if you've been down to the Port Mann area recently but this bridge is -massive-. Yeah I know some people on the forum will just say 'It's not the biggest bridge on the continent, but really, it's going to by far the largest in the country and apparently have the widest deck of a long span brige in the world. As another forumer mentioned, when normal people in approaching airplanes see that monster, they are impressed, and it's not even complete and cleaned up yet.

As for the 'boo hoo it's not a stack interchange' comments, this is not an 'urban interchange' in the middle of a 5+ million people American city. We all agree we wouldn't want a freeway downtown no matter how nice the interchanges are. The new cape horn should be evaluated this way: 1) There is the Trans Canada, the Lougheed, Mary Hill Bypass and United Boulevard all joining together, and the previous interchange didn't serve all directions very well at all and this will almost completely rectify the inital design's problems. Show me a 6+ way interchange with one road right below a massive bridge that is more asthetically pleasing in an American city please. 2) With Lougheed to the north and United Boulevard to the south and east, and the inital footprint of the existing interchange, there is no reason to further stack it much more than the current plan does, as the land is already owned by the government. 3) The new third level curved lanes from the bridge to north on the lougheed, and the elimination of the dreaded and dangerous 'crazy crisscross' segments is a major improvement.

Sorry to complain but I think people underestimate how much of an improvement and how large scale the bridge and interchange improvements are.

[Metro-One]

I agree with you, but it is just "hip" thing to do on the web to complain about any highway improvement in BC. I swear, we are upgrading and building highways like made in BC over the past 5 years, yet if you go on SCC or even the highway section on this forum all you hear is how terrible the highways are in BC, blah blah blah. It is really getting old, and indeed, outdated!

The Cape Horn is going to be quite a large interchange with a very decent, compact design. The new Port Mann is awe inspiring as well. So combined together will be quite the highway experience.

[go_leafs_go02]

Originally Posted by red-paladin

Uh... It's more than that. Give credit where credit is due.

I am not sure if you've been down to the Port Mann area recently but this bridge is -massive-. Yeah I know some people on the forum will just say 'It's not the biggest bridge on the continent, but really, it's going to by far the largest in the country and apparently have the widest deck of a long span brige in the world. As another forumer mentioned, when normal people in approaching airplanes see that monster, they are impressed, and it's not even complete and cleaned up yet.

As for the 'boo hoo it's not a stack interchange' comments, this is not an 'urban interchange' in the middle of a 5+ million people American city. We all agree we wouldn't want a freeway downtown no matter how nice the interchanges are. The new cape horn should be evaluated this way: 1) There is the Trans Canada, the Lougheed, Mary Hill Bypass and United Boulevard all joining together, and the previous interchange didn't serve all directions very well at all and this will almost completely rectify the inital design's problems. Show me a 6+ way interchange with one road right below a massive bridge that is more asthetically pleasing in an American city please. 2) With Lougheed to the north and United Boulevard to the south and east, and the inital footprint of the existing interchange, there is no reason to further stack it much more than the current plan does, as the land is already owned by the government. 3) The new third level curved lanes from the bridge to north on the lougheed, and the elimination of the dreaded and dangerous 'crazy crisscross' segments is a major improvement.

Sorry to complain but I think people underestimate how much of an improvement and how large scale the bridge and interchange improvements are.

I love the new Port Mann bridge, I wasn't commenting on that in any way. That certainly is impressive, and welcomed, but I was commenting more or less on how the new Port Mann Bridge is about 15-20 years late, if you compare to other North American locations.

The bridge is MASSIVE, but I was commenting on the whole of the Gateway project. It's generally just playing catch-up with the rest of the areas. Cape Horn is a fantastic interchange, but I was talking more from a drivers perspective that if you don't really have an interest in roads or highway design, I don't know if it would be that "awe-inspiring" driving through.

I would support a nice urban freeway to downtown Vancouver, one that was built with the environment in mind, integrated well with the land use, and was in some ways lowered beneath the ground. Maybe I'm the only one, but for example, you all mention how glad you are that Gastown is there, but I really think a Gastown-like neighbourhood would have evolved somewhere nearby IF a freeway was built through there.

I'm absolutely against a freeway that is raised/elevated, or that is wide, but I certainly would be OK with a nice subgrade freeway that would integrate well with downtown. I just believe something is wrong when at times it's quicker to take TCH 1 over the Ironworkers to the Lions Gate to access downtown compared to First Avenue or Hastings.

And, I should explain, growing up in Ontario, and seeing how things are done here in highway design (high design criteria, large and impressive stack interchanges), it's really easy to compare on my end. In that way, I'm NOT advocating a 12-16 lane freeway like Vancouver, but just something built with the highest level of safety in mind.

[Canadian Mind]

Malkin connector would speed Downtown connectivity considerably.

[red-paladin]

Fair enough, I didn't mean to sound like I was ranting at you.

What I would say is that the people that drive through the Cape Horn interchange on a daily basis, which was stressful and flat out dangerous with the crossover traffic and sharp curves (not to mention congested), will absolutely love it. For as long as I remember as a kid, so going back to the early 80s, I would hear people complain about it. So in terms of function (which is more important than form in infrastructure really) it will be a great success, and that's purpose of building it.

I'm not saying I don't think stack interchanges and some of the new ones in Alberta are cool and innovative. I think the freeways in Seattle are fun as hell to drive through but I still wouldn't want to live in downtown Seattle. Personally I wouldn't mind of they build an underground 2 or 4 lane bypass from the freeway to somewhere like where the Malkin connector would end, or to near the Grandview Viaduct. However A) Super expensive B) 'No new lanes' into Vancouver and C) By the time it's completed the Lions Gate Bridge will have shut down for car traffic and every street downtown will have a bike lane.