Port Mann/Highway 1 Improvements | Completed

[go_leafs_go02]

well I think they'll built a new ROW on the southside of the bridge to the west of the current highway...open the new bridge through a tight opening (say it would be 4-5 lanes only at first, and then demolish, infill/change the present area that the Old Port Mann approach would be.

definitely going to be interesting to see especially how the north-bound approaches in the cut work out.

[officedweller]

Thanks for the info!

[Mininari]

Originally Posted by Stingray2004

I notice that the lead bridge engineer for the new PMB design will be T.Y. Lin International, the same guys who designed the new San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge.

I was always under the impression that our local boys, Buckland & Taylor, would be hold that position but c'est la vie.

Also, according to construction staging plans, a portion of the existing PMB on both the north/south sides will require demolition in order to complete the approaches for the new structure.

http://a100.gov.bc.ca/appsdata/epic/...851fe3404e.pdf

http://a100.gov.bc.ca/appsdata/epic/...851fe3404e.pdf

Hmm, this must explain why the new bridge will be "open" a year early -- its not going to be FULLY open, but partially open to permit for the tie-in work.

Assuming that the vertical scale is not exaggerated in anyway, one can use the dimensions given on these drawings to determine the height of the towers... looks like they will be somewhere between 170-180m tall... which would make the Port Mann Towers the 2nd tallest structures in the lower mainland.

Does anyone concur with my estimate?

[GMasterAres]

Originally Posted by Mininari

Hmm, this must explain why the new bridge will be "open" a year early -- its not going to be FULLY open, but partially open to permit for the tie-in work.

Assuming that the vertical scale is not exaggerated in anyway, one can use the dimensions given on these drawings to determine the height of the towers... looks like they will be somewhere between 170-180m tall... which would make the Port Mann Towers the 2nd tallest structures in the lower mainland.

Does anyone concur with my estimate?

You're probably not far off. I don't have my topo-GPS here with me to show me the layout around that area but I'm guestimating that the bridge deck of the current Port Mann is between 50 and 60 metres high. If you apply that to the deck launching point in the second diagram, that would put the towers around what you state not including the giant spikes on the top.

Hard to tell without seeing a detailed design though but you're probably not far off.

[twoNeurons]

Hmmm... maybe they can use the extra ROW on the Surrey Side for some high speed Rail.

[Mininari]

Originally Posted by twoNeurons

Hmmm... maybe they can use the extra ROW on the Surrey Side for some high speed Rail.

That would be great, except why am I picturing a 401-ish C/D system filling that space in 30 years... : /

Could easily be 2-3-3-2 or even 3-3-3-3 with dedicated exit lanes to 152.

[metroXpress]

PMH1 Project has lunched a new website @

www.pmh1project.com

[metroXpress]

UPDATE!









LINK: Please refer to previous post

[surrey1]

Will anyone be exempt from tolls?
Registered commercial trucks will receive an overnight discount of 50%, to help encourage them to travel outside of busy commuting times.
Registered HOVs will also receive a discount during peak commuting periods, as an added incentive to consider carpooling – reducing transportation impacts on the environment.

[LeftCoaster]

^Smart, I like the off peak toll reductions. Hopefully they have an effect.

Allen, thanks for the links.

[lightrail]

Originally Posted by surrey1

[B] reducing transportation impacts on the environment.

If they really meant this - the $3 billion would have gone into true truck route infrastucture (dedicated truck lanes) and rapid transit - not a half-baked general use highway network that will be clogged in 10 years with 250,000 vehicles trying to get over the bridge per day, instead of the 120,000 trying today.

[osirisboy]

thanks for all the info Allen

[Metro-One]

The smartest part of this project is the fact that the bridge is the widest part, this helps ensure that it will not become a bottle neck. In to many places in Metro-Vancouver the bridges are the thinnest portions of the roadway, this causes bad congestion.

[Canadian Mind]

Why can't the whole highway be tolled?

[East Van]

its not the 407.

did anyone see the massive piles rising above the Port Mann? Are those for the bridge pylons ?

[SpongeG]

its also really the only connection we have to the rest of the country

[lightrail]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

its also really the only connection we have to the rest of the country

No it's not. You have:

1. Deas Island Tunnel connects to Highway 10 to Hwy 1
2. Alex Fraser Bridge - connects to Highway 10 to Hwy 1
3. Pitt River Bridge and Misison Bridge/Golden Ears Bridge connect to Highway 1
4. First Narrows and Second Narrows bridges connect to Hwy 99 to the interior

[Metro-One]

Well, it is the only true direct connection, to take the First Narrows or Second Narrows bridge to any populated parts in the interior is like flying to Australia first to go to Japan, and using any of those other routes means getting of the #1 (off the freeway) and pointlessly going through town centers and again going far out the way of the direction you want to go. You don't seem to understand directions very much.

Dease Island Tunnel and the Alex Fraser are most useful for southward travel (to the US). The Pitt River Bridge connects Pitt Meadows to Poco, no point in even mentioning that bridge.

If you are leaving from Pitt Meadows, Maple Ridge or Mission then yes the Golden Ears Bridge and Mission Bridge are generally the routes you will take to go east.

The #1 and the Port Mann Bridge is the only true direct route to the East for the majority of Metro-Vancouver North of the Fraser, anyone coming from out of town or performing shipping will use that route, not your beat around the bush routes.

Think about it, if you are leaving from Burnaby or North Van what is the most environmentally and economical route, getting on one road (the #1) which is free flow and is the most direct route east, or going through several city centers through start and stop traffic light traffic, clogging up local roads, and adding 20 to 30 km or more onto that trip?

[giallo]

^ I agree. The Port Mann IS part of Highway 1; our only major connection to the rest of Canada. It has to accommodate local, commercial and regional traffic.

[Cypherus]

Originally Posted by lightrail

If they really meant this - the $3 billion would have gone into true truck route infrastucture (dedicated truck lanes) and rapid transit - not a half-baked general use highway network that will be clogged in 10 years with 250,000 vehicles trying to get over the bridge per day, instead of the 120,000 trying today.

The problem is that population growth and traffic congestion have created a bottleneck on the bridge that needs to be remedied now. Increasing road capacity is a necessary condition to support increasing population and economic growth. Further, the proposed SFPR and truck-only off ramps/on ramps along the HWY 1 Burnaby corridor perhaps surpasses the benefits of select dedicated truck lanes.