Port Mann/Highway 1 Improvements | Completed

[DKaz]

Traffic lights are up at the United Blvd offramp.

It's too bad they couldn't fit in a westbound onramp from United Blvd.

[The_Henry_Man]

Originally Posted by martinishaker

Road lines are starting to be painted on the Boundary Road overpass.
http://wcs.pbaeng.com/projects/PMH1
Highway 1 westbound cam shows the progress

From the webcam pics it looks like the merging lane into TCH-1 from Boundary is still going to be pretty short.

[DKaz]

Originally Posted by The_Henry_Man

From the webcam pics it looks like the merging lane into TCH-1 from Boundary is still going to be pretty short.

http://www.pmh1project.com/Design%20Draw...t%20Ave%20Interchange%20-%2020120207.pdf

150-175 metres? Kinda short but there was no merging lane at all before.

[adrianroam95]

http://www.pmh1project.com/Construction%...ngdon%20Weekend%20Warrior%2020130730.pdf

I drove by the area a few hours ago, and noticed that all the paving work they've been doing on Willingdon Ave. over the long weekend seems to be mostly done. Hopefully this means that the alignment of the southern approach to the overpass will be fixed for the morning rush tomorrow. That area has been a mess for too long.

[mezzanine]

For some reason the HOV onramp EB at grandview was open this weekend. A nice bonus for HOV users as it takes you over the merge points for the regular onramp and the off ramp for willingdon and drops you directly (free-flow it seems like) to HWY 1 HOV.

HOV exit WB is still closed....

[Spork]

EB Grandview HOV on-ramp has been open for a few weeks now. Quite nice, I agree!

[aberdeen5698]

Originally Posted by mezzanine

For some reason the HOV onramp EB at grandview was open this weekend.

Yep, it's permanently open now, and it's become our regular way onto the freeway because it avoids having to weave with traffic exiting at Willingdon. I personally don't care so much about the westbound HOV exit because there's no real issue with taking the regular exit - plus once it's open the HOV traffic heading west on Grandview will have to merge left out of the curb lane before getting to Skeena.

[Klazu]

Long weekend and return traffic both from the Interior and the US caused yesterday a constant stop-and-go bumper-to-bumper traffic jam all the way to Chilliwack. Between Chilliwack and Abbotsford both westbound lanes were full of cars and moving at bicycle speeds. Only after Abbotsford did the traffic flow increase, still stopping completely few times before 200 Street. From there onwards it was smooth sailing all the way to Vancouver.

I have never experienced such a congestion on such a long strecth of the highway. Highway 1 would badly need to be expanded to 3+3 lanes all the way to Chilliwack.

[DKaz]

I was on my way back from the Metro Vancouver Zoo and Lynden, WA with my wife and kids, saw the backup on Hwy 1 WB, and decided to take 88 Ave instead via Fort Langley. Google Maps noted going on Hwy 1 would've taken me 29 minutes vs. 38 minutes via 88 Ave., but it didn't show any traffic at all on Hwy 1 (strange...), but meh I got to enjoy a nice scenic drive in my car that I never get to drive much these days. Got back onto Hwy 1 at the 202 St HOV onramp where the freeway was wide open at that point, got off at 156 St HOV offramp. Pretty cool, never touched the general lanes.

[libtard]

Originally Posted by Klazu

Long weekend and return traffic both from the Interior and the US caused yesterday a constant stop-and-go bumper-to-bumper traffic jam all the way to Chilliwack. Between Chilliwack and Abbotsford both westbound lanes were full of cars and moving at bicycle speeds. Only after Abbotsford did the traffic flow increase, still stopping completely few times before 200 Street. From there onwards it was smooth sailing all the way to Vancouver.

I have never experienced such a congestion on such a long strecth of the highway. Highway 1 would badly need to be expanded to 3+3 lanes all the way to Chilliwack.

Whats all the work they're doing east of 200th in the middle of the highway

Are they widening past 200th?

[DKaz]

Originally Posted by libtard

Whats all the work they're doing east of 200th in the middle of the highway

Are they widening past 200th?

They are adding a third climbing lane eastbound between 232 St. and 264 St. I'm guessing the lane will start at the 232 St. onramp and end at the 264 St. off ramp but I could be wrong...

[go_leafs_go02]

Originally Posted by DKaz

They are adding a third climbing lane eastbound between 232 St. and 264 St. I'm guessing the lane will start at the 232 St. onramp and end at the 264 St. off ramp but I could be wrong...

That's correct. One new eastbound lane up the hills to 264 Street from 232 Street.

I think we'll see something announced in the next few years to widen the Highway to Abbotsford as a Phase 1 and then Chilliwack as a Phase 2.

It's desperately needed from both a volume and safety standpoint.

[cabotp]

Originally Posted by aberdeen5698

Yep, it's permanently open now, and it's become our regular way onto the freeway because it avoids having to weave with traffic exiting at Willingdon. I personally don't care so much about the westbound HOV exit because there's no real issue with taking the regular exit - plus once it's open the HOV traffic heading west on Grandview will have to merge left out of the curb lane before getting to Skeena.

Ya but at least they will only have to merge over to left one lane to continue on Grandview Hwy. With the old system as we have known it. Those in the WB HOV lane would of had to of crossed 2 full lanes before getting into the lane to exit. The more you decrease the amount of lane changes in an area the better your traffic flow and it lowers the chances of traffic accidents.

Right now there is a bottleneck along the #1 WB around Brunnette. Due to loosing a lane. Once that 4th lanes is open till Grandview. I think we will discover that that HOV lane will be needed for the increase in vehicles that the #1 will dump on Grandview and Boundary.

[cabotp]

Originally Posted by Klazu

Long weekend and return traffic both from the Interior and the US caused yesterday a constant stop-and-go bumper-to-bumper traffic jam all the way to Chilliwack. Between Chilliwack and Abbotsford both westbound lanes were full of cars and moving at bicycle speeds. Only after Abbotsford did the traffic flow increase, still stopping completely few times before 200 Street. From there onwards it was smooth sailing all the way to Vancouver.

I have never experienced such a congestion on such a long strecth of the highway. Highway 1 would badly need to be expanded to 3+3 lanes all the way to Chilliwack.

That is par for the course on a long weekend.

Worst I ever saw and stuck in. Traffic was stop and go averaging maybe 10-20 KM/H from Hope till the old Port Mann. It was so bad people were actually trying to drive through the ditches along the #1 in Abbotsford and Chilliwack to get onto the side roads.

[aberdeen5698]

Originally Posted by cabotp

Ya but at least they will only have to merge over to left one lane to continue on Grandview Hwy. With the old system as we have known it. Those in the WB HOV lane would of had to of crossed 2 full lanes before getting into the lane to exit.

Of course. I was speaking for my own personal use - I never travel at peak times and although I have my wife in the vehicle I don't normally use the HOV lanes because traffic almost always flows very smoothly. I also like to drive at or very close to the speed limit (which is currently 80km/h on that section of the freeway) and for some strange reason it really seems to freak some people out if I do that in the HOV lane - even though the limit applies as much to that lane as much as it does all the other ones.

It's worth it to me to use the eastbound Grandview HOV on-ramp to avoid the weaving at Willingdon - and while I have to merge left two lanes to get into my preferred rightmost lane I as much time as I need to do that. But at the westbound Grandview exit there's really no reason for me not to just use the normal right-hand off-ramp.

So if there are others like me then I'm thinking that the eastbound HOV ramp may see more use than than the westbound one. Especially since using the westbound ramp makes it a lot more difficult to use the left turn at Boundary that's recently been reinstated.

[Xrayal]

TI Corporation put out a RFP for the Cariboo Road overpass and a Gaglardi Weigh Scale. Link
Wasn't this included in the original project bid. Why is it now separate?

I couldn't tell from the drawing included in this bid. But wasn't the new overpass suppose to cross just east of the current one?

I wonder why Gagladri has been chosen as the new location for a scale?
Also interesting they refer to the weigh scale station as "mobile". But this also could be just referring to the mobile home style booth structure they seem to use.

[DKaz]

The United Blvd offramp from Hwy 1 has been reopened. Access from Lougheed Hwy is not open yet, but it has been painted.

Images from the webcams.

[officedweller]

Cool.
Thanks for pointing that out.

[jlenko]

Pic taken a few days ago from the gravel access road just north of the SFPR, under the old Port Mann bridge... where they're taking off the road surface:

http://www.bcjbody.org/jlenko/sfpr/photo.JPG

The debris falling from this area today (just north of the SFPR, onto the gravel area just south of where I took this shot) was crazy... I can't imagine how they're going to divert traffic around that falling debris in a few days when they get right over top of the SFPR...

[Metro-One]

Lots of work going on along the #1 tonight, many stretches are getting their final surfacing done it seems.