Recently, Vancouver's daily newspapers carried a full-color, double-page spread progress report from the BC Government on the Gateway Program. Under the headlines, "Gateway Program Underway," and "A Balanced Approach," the report summarized the overall objectives of the program, to reduce congestion and improve the movement of people, goods and transit to boost B.C.'s economy and improve livability. The report also updated the progress on the first three projects to be constructed.
The first is the Pitt River Bridge and Mary Hill Interchange, a stand-alone component of the larger North Fraser Perimeter Road Project. The new seven-lane bridge will replace the two existing swing bridges across the Pitt River. The new interchange will replace the existing Lougheed Highway and the Mary Hill Bypass intersection. Construction is beginning "immediately" with completion targeted for 2009. A noteworthy feature of this project-in addition to the specific ways in which it will reduce congestion, improve access and accommodate future growth-is the fewer number of piers, designed to interfere as little as possible with the waterway.
The next project up is the South Fraser Perimeter Road [SFPR], a four-lane 80km/hour roadway along the south side of the Fraser River from Deltaport Way in southwest Delta to 176th Street in Surrey, "with connections to several major highways and TransLink's Golden Ears Bridge." The report states that, in 2005 and 2006, the Ministry of Transportation held "more than 120 stakeholder meetings and 40 open houses across the region" as part of its "comprehensive consultation program." In addition, the SFPR project has been "going through an extensive environment review."
Construction on the SFPR is scheduled to start in late 2007/early 2008 with completion targeted for 2012. Although the main focus of this project is on commercial traffic, commuters, and tourists accessing the border, the Tsawwassen ferry terminal and the BC Interior are promised reduced travel times and streamlined access.
The third project is twinning the Port Mann Bridge and upgrading the interchanges and improving access and safety on Highway 1, from Vancouver to Langley. It includes HOV lanes to Langley, public transit over the bridge for the first time since 1986, and extensive cycling improvements-the largest investment in cycling in the history of the province. The target start date is 2008 with completion targeted for 2013.
Criticism of Gateway continues along familiar lines- that expanding and upgrading roadways merely causes more congestion. A recent editorial in the Vancouver Sun says critics paint "a distorted picture of the problem and propose unrealistic solutions." The Sun proposes that while Gateway will reduce inconvenience to commuters, this is merely a "welcome ancillary benefit" of it's main objective which is to better accommodate truck volumes. Likening Gateway to the St. Lawrence Seaway project of the 1950's, designed to develop Canada's trade with Europe, Gateway, the editorial says, is "a vital link to the global marketplace and a key component of Canada's international competitiveness," Canada's "portal to Asian markets through the next generation."
Cedric Hughes of Hughes and Company Law Corporation, with contributions from Leslie McGuffin, LL.B., writes a weekly column on traffic advice for The VOICE. "The Road Rules" strives to provide helpful information about driving in British Columbia. We welcome your comments on our published articles and your suggestions for topics you would like us to address. Please email: eginter@hughesco.com. Phone: (604) 602-1818. Punjabi and Hindi: (604) 897-0207.
Email: cedric_hughes@hughesco.com
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