British Columbia's Highways

[splashflash]

[pderocco]

Glad I got to drive the old bridge a year and a half ago. Maybe I'll get to drive the new bridge this summer. I have a pet project to maybe drive all the Fraser River car crossings.

[Max Rockatansky]

The cable stay design isn't exactly exciting with how many similar spans have been built recently.  The Pattullo Bridge wasn't exactly a looker but through arches are becoming rare.

[jakeroot]

The cable stay design isn't exactly exciting with how many similar spans have been built recently.  The Pattullo Bridge wasn't exactly a looker but through arches are becoming rare.

Couple of Facebook posts I've seen regarding the bridge say as much. "Why do all the Fraser River crossings look the same?" is a common complaint. The Massey Tunnel replacement bridge was to have a similar design, too.

Personally, coming from the land of floating bridges, it's nice to see actual bridge spans that go above water, regardless of design.

[splashflash]

The cable stay design isn't exactly exciting with how many similar spans have been built recently.  The Pattullo Bridge wasn't exactly a looker but through arches are becoming rare.

Couple of Facebook posts I've seen regarding the bridge say as much. "Why do all the Fraser River crossings look the same?" is a common complaint. The Massey Tunnel replacement bridge was to have a similar design, too.

Personally, coming from the land of floating bridges, it's nice to see actual bridge spans that go above water, regardless of design.

Remaining non cable span bridges across the Fraser include the Mission Bridge (below) and Fraser Bridge at Hope.


Mission Bridge with CP Rail bridge in the background.


Bridge in Hope.  Originally double deck with railway on bottom deck.

[TXtoNJ]

Making travel easier with new Highway 11 interchange under construction by Province of  British Columbia, on Flickr

As suspected, the design for the Highway 11 interchange is no longer the DDI concept. Instead, it'll be a modified diamond with one cloverleaf.

[stevashe]

Making travel easier with new Highway 11 interchange under construction by Province of  British Columbia, on Flickr

As suspected, the design for the Highway 11 interchange is no longer the DDI concept. Instead, it'll be a modified diamond with one cloverleaf.

That's... interesting. It's like a cross between a SPUI and a parclo.

[TXtoNJ]

Making travel easier with new Highway 11 interchange under construction by Province of  British Columbia, on Flickr

As suspected, the design for the Highway 11 interchange is no longer the DDI concept. Instead, it'll be a modified diamond with one cloverleaf.

That's... interesting. It's like a cross between a SPUI and a parclo.

It makes sense in that movements here are very unbalanced. There's a large industrial zone along with the US border to the south, meaning that most truck traffic will be making south and west movements. However, the bulk of Abbotsford's population lies north and west of the interchange, so those movements need to be accounted for as well.

Eastbound movements towards Chilliwack and Hope are more often served by the McCallum Rd and Whatcom Rd interchanges, which is why I think they moved away from the DDI concept. This also provides more space for the new truck parking there.

Rest stops and park-and-rides are particularly controversial in this area, as they've been mainly used by squatters in RVs for the past decade or so. Supportive housing exists ~200 m to the west, across the railway tracks, so moving the truck parking here would be a compromise most people in the area would accept.

[jakeroot]

I am surprised they're not building a partial cloverleaf of some kind. Specifically the B4 style with off-ramp loops. It would have allowed constant flow off Hwy 1 in all directions, and the left turns onto Hwy 1 could be tied into the existing intersections. It would have allowed for that truck parking area, too.

[TXtoNJ]

I am surprised they're not building a partial cloverleaf of some kind. Specifically the B4 style with off-ramp loops. It would have allowed constant flow off Hwy 1 in all directions, and the left turns onto Hwy 1 could be tied into the existing intersections. It would have allowed for that truck parking area, too.

I am surprised they're not building a partial cloverleaf of some kind. Specifically the B4 style with off-ramp loops. It would have allowed constant flow off Hwy 1 in all directions, and the left turns onto Hwy 1 could be tied into the existing intersections. It would have allowed for that truck parking area, too.

As mentioned, the big problem with that concept is the movement of trucks from NB Hwy 11 to WB Hwy 1. Gridlock is already an issue here, so having trucks lined up in a left turn lane would be suboptimal.

[jakeroot]

I am surprised they're not building a partial cloverleaf of some kind. Specifically the B4 style with off-ramp loops. It would have allowed constant flow off Hwy 1 in all directions, and the left turns onto Hwy 1 could be tied into the existing intersections. It would have allowed for that truck parking area, too.

As mentioned, the big problem with that concept is the movement of trucks from NB Hwy 11 to WB Hwy 1. Gridlock is already an issue here, so having trucks lined up in a left turn lane would be suboptimal.

A double left turn with two-phase operations likely has the same capacity a single lane loop, especially one this tight.

A left turn on-ramp would also allow trucks substantially more time to reach highway speeds. The current design will have trucks slogging along worse than now even after merging onto the westbound carriageway.

[splashflash]

This should probably be under fictional, but a study is being produced privately by a construction company.

https://caledoniacourier.com/2026/06/18/prince-rupert-company-envisions-coastal-highway-to-vancouver/
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/highway-linking-vancouver-to-prince-rupert-proposed-by-construction-company/ar-AA26x3qP?ocid=BingNewsVerp

"There's only one major route that leads in and out of Prince Rupert — but a local construction company is proposing a new, coastal highway that would connect the northwest to the Lower Mainland.

"Ray Pederson of PGE Construction says the "Pacific Fjords Connector" could trace B.C.'s rugged coastline through mountain passes, river valleys and inlets.

"His company has hired a highway design engineer to work on the proposal, which he says is about half complete.

"Pederson said the project proposes a route through mountain valleys to the east of B.C.'s coastal fjords.

Historian weighs in

Ben Bradley, a history professor at the University of Guelph who previously taught history at the University of Northern B.C., shared a one-word summary of the idea: "audacious."

[Plutonic Panda]

That would be awesome if they could build that.

[Stephane Dumas]

That would be awesome if they could build that.

Indeed, I guess they might combine this idea with the studies of a fixed link with the Lower Mainland and the Sunshine Coast. https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/transportation/transportation-reports-and-reference/reports-studies/vancouver-island/sunshine-coast-fixed-link

[dmuzika]

I'd be curious as to how far inland the highway would be. I think right along the coast would be very difficult with very mountainous terrain and numerous fjords and other water crossings; however, looking at the terrain on Google Maps, following the western edge of the Interior Plateau might be more plausible. Roughly speaking, it could go from Houston to Pemberton or Lillooet, with the southern most section having the most challenging terrain.

Being from Alberta, think a BC version of the Forestry Trunk Road which largely follows the edge of the Rocky Mountains.

[Alps]

This should probably be under fictional, but a study is being produced privately by a construction company.

https://caledoniacourier.com/2026/06/18/prince-rupert-company-envisions-coastal-highway-to-vancouver/
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/highway-linking-vancouver-to-prince-rupert-proposed-by-construction-company/ar-AA26x3qP?ocid=BingNewsVerp

"There's only one major route that leads in and out of Prince Rupert — but a local construction company is proposing a new, coastal highway that would connect the northwest to the Lower Mainland.

"Ray Pederson of PGE Construction says the "Pacific Fjords Connector" could trace B.C.'s rugged coastline through mountain passes, river valleys and inlets.

"His company has hired a highway design engineer to work on the proposal, which he says is about half complete.

"Pederson said the project proposes a route through mountain valleys to the east of B.C.'s coastal fjords.

Historian weighs in

Ben Bradley, a history professor at the University of Guelph who previously taught history at the University of Northern B.C., shared a one-word summary of the idea: "audacious."

It sounds like exactly the sort of highway you find going around the perimeter of Iceland, tracing its rugged coastline instead of just following the ring road (Highway 1). So it's buildable, but way too costly by modern standards instead of connecting old tracks from generations past. In Iceland they followed the coast; in BC they never did historically.