It's hard to believe but work on the Port Mann/Highway 1 project is almost two thirds done and the new bridge and most of the road systems around it are supposed to be finished by December 2012.
Before long, gantries will be hoisted into place on the bridge to handle electronic tolling when eight of the 10 lanes will be operational in little more than 18 months from now.
In the meantime, the landscape around Coquitlam's Cape Horn interchange is changing daily as work proceeds on 15 overpasses and underpasses that are being constructed to make it easier and more efficient for traffic to enter and exit the bridge.
"It's all about getting traffic moving," Jodi Rogers, the project's manager of community relations, told an interested group of civic politicians and business leaders at a Tri-Cities Chamber of Commerce forum last Wednesday on local transportation improvements in the Pacific Reach business area.
Rogers said commuters can expect more lane shifts and width restrictions on the highway during construction this summer and should stay in touch via PMH1 bulletins and the website www.pmh1project.com or by phone 1-866-999-PMH1 (7641).
Only eight of 10 bridge lanes will be finished by December 2012 because the remaining two will have to wait until the old Port Mann Bridge is dismantled. The entire 37 km project, with a price tag of $2.46 billion, is expected to be completed in 2013.
Still, it won't belong before commuters will be able to sign up for a tolling account, and even if they expect to be infrequent users of the new bridge, Rogers recommended getting an account and a sticker with a bar code for convenient payment.
One of the changes expected to benefit businesses in the area are new truck-only access and exits off the bridge on to United Boulevard. These will be truck-only 24 hours a day to enhance movement of goods, according to PMH1, while also freeing up room for general commuter traffic, which would be expected to get to the area via Lougheed Highway and the new King Edward overpass.
(A detailed graphic of the new Cape Horn interchange is available at www.pmh1project.com; click on Info Room and Cape Horn Interchange Improvements Open House.)
UNITED BOULEVARD CONNECTOR
Work is continuing on design proposals for the United Boulevard Extension, with the goal of completing the connector and removing the bailey bridge to New Westminster by 2014, the forum was told last Wednesday.
Sany Zein, director of roads for TransLink, said by the end of May, Coquitlam and New Westminster councils could see some new options for ending gridlock in the narrow corridor but several hurdles remain before the improvements to United Boulevard are in place to take truck traffic exiting the Port Mann Bridge from new truck-only lanes.
One major hurdle is money.
Although TransLink has approved the project in its 2011 base plan, other projects would have to be delayed to pay for it, Zein said. The federal government has promised $65 million for the project and TransLink is supposed to match it; the project must wrap up by 2014 to meet federal requirements.
Three new design proposals are on the table after public consultations but more refinement - and costing - is necessary. As well, the project would need an environmental assessment before it could go ahead.
KING EDWARD OVERPASS
The city of Coquitlam is urging businesses in the United Boulevard commercial district to sign up with Travel Smart (www.travelsmart.ca) to get their employees off the road and free up space for shoppers while construction of the new King Edward overpass is taking place.
A 12-week closure of King Edward Street between Lougheed Highway and United Boulevard will be implemented this summer and the city is looking at ways to reduce traffic congestion.
The city's general manager of strategic initiatives, Maurice Gravelle, recommended businesses and their employees use Travel Smart to cut down on car trips in the area. The program suggests employers encourage telecommuting, flex-time schedules and ride-sharing, and recommends an employer pass program that provides a 15% discount on transit passes to companies that have more than 25 people committed to taking transit for at least one year. (More information is available at www.travelsmart.ca.)
When it's complete, the overpass will have attractive lighting, a path for pedestrians and cyclists and a look-out spot.
