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[jakeroot]

Not the most interesting province in Canada to post about. But BC regularly engages in highway construction and they're not afraid of large projects. So what the hey, let's have a BC thread.

Mod note: maybe we could sticky all these provincial threads? Other than BC: Ontario, Quebec, and Alberta all have identically-named threads.


Some interesting projects ongoing in BC include:

* Lower Lynn Interchange reconstruction in North Vancouver: see here;

* Rebuild of Hwy 91/SFPR interchange: see here;

* Haney Bypass reconstruction (Hwy 7 bypass around Maple Ridge): see here;

* Pattullo Bridge Replacement: see here

[jakeroot]

To start, the Lower Lynn Improvements are ongoing in North Vancouver. Many things have already been completed.

Some of the changes include:

* rebuilt interchange at Mountain Hwy
* new bridges over Lynn Creek
* collector/distributer system
* ramp meter entering the southbound Ironworkers

You can see the new Mountain Hwy overpass/interchange on street view already.

Here is a map of all the different improvements:



The MOTI's Flickr album for the project has quite a few photos as well:

This flyover is pretty excellent too:

[jakeroot]

Another project was recently completed: Hwy 1 at McKenzie/Admirals on Vancouver Island.

This interchange was previously a busy traffic signal, and completed a section of the Hwy 1 Freeway another interchange further, bringing the total length to about 11 km.

The freeway's eastern end is Tillicum Road, and is much more urban than where this interchange was built. It's unlikely that a proper freeway interchange would ever be built there. Maybe a RIRO one day.

Images are hard to come by, but this one was posted by the MOT on their website:

[jakeroot]

For those interested in traffic signals:

BC recently changed their rule and now requires 300mm traffic signal heads rather than a variety of 200mm or 300mm as was previously the case.

I believe this intersection between Mountain Hwy & Keith Road, which was rebuilt by the province as part of the aforementioned Lower Lynn Improvements, may be the first provincial intersection to include all 300mm signal heads. An intersection like this would have definitely included some 200mm traffic signals a few years ago, likely the right-side through signals.

[kkt]

Are you getting to visit BC at all?  I thought travel was limited to essential traffic only.  Or are you working just from web sites?

[jakeroot]

Are you getting to visit BC at all?  I thought travel was limited to essential traffic only.  Or are you working just from web sites?

I have connections through UBC that might allow me to get in, but I have not been on the other side of the border since February. Unfortunately. Quite a large back-log for me now.

[TXtoNJ]

Was wondering why there hadn't been any BC news lately. I actually just got back from there (dual citizenship comes in handy).

The biggest news in the Lower Mainland outside of Van is that the expansion of Hwy 1 to 216th St in Langley is complete. https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/transportation/transportation-infrastructure/projects/highway1-216th

Further expansion to 3x3 from Langley to Fraser Hwy in Abbotsford was part of the NDP's platform for the recent election, so we should see that soon (it is promised by 2026). This will alleviate likely the biggest traffic chokepoint on the entire BC highway system.

[vdeane]

* Rebuild of Hwy 91/SFPR interchange: see here;

Interesting... I wonder if the SFPR will be a proper freeway some day.  Looks like that interchange still won't be freeway/freeway, though, at least at the BC 91 end.

[Stephane Dumas]

There also some upgrades planned for BC-7. I wonder if there was once some plans to convert BC-7 into a full freeway between BC-7B and BC-11?

[TXtoNJ]

There also some upgrades planned for BC-7. I wonder if there was once some plans to convert BC-7 into a full freeway between BC-7B and BC-11?

I’m pretty sure the Lougheed was never intended to be a freeway - always a local/relief route for Highway 1. BC seems to follow more the UK model of freeways for clear trunk routes, and expressways for intercity connectors.

[splashflash]

There also some upgrades planned for BC-7. I wonder if there was once some plans to convert BC-7 into a full freeway between BC-7B and BC-11?

I’m pretty sure the Lougheed was never intended to be a freeway - always a local/relief route for Highway 1. BC seems to follow more the UK model of freeways for clear trunk routes, and expressways for intercity connectors.

The Lougheed between Mission and Maple Ridge has seen widening in the past twenty years, bit by bit.  For Mission it was a local but direct route to Vancouver, but the Mission Bridge connection to the Trans-Canada was for years faster, up until bad congestion occurred on the Port Mann Bridge from the mid-1990s until the replacement Port Mann was completed.  The Haney bypass quickened travelling for years but itself became congested and had traffic signals added.  The improved Pitt River Bridge replaced the old twin Bridges in the early 2000's.  The Ministry of Highways may have had high level plans in the 1960s for it to become a freeway, but surely won't become a freeway east of Pitt Meadows.

The section east of Mission through Dewdney is rather quaint, having changed little in the past fifty to sixty years.

[jakeroot]

The biggest news in the Lower Mainland outside of Van is that the expansion of Hwy 1 to 216th St in Langley is complete. https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/transportation/transportation-infrastructure/projects/highway1-216th

Further expansion to 3x3 from Langley to Fraser Hwy in Abbotsford was part of the NDP's platform for the recent election, so we should see that soon (it is promised by 2026). This will alleviate likely the biggest traffic chokepoint on the entire BC highway system.

I had totally forgot about that interchange. Last I checked it was still under construction, so I'm glad to see it opened.

The drive from Abbotsford to Vancouver can be a real slog, so I'm glad to see that they are widening it. Last time I was in that area, I was going from Chilliwack to Vancouver but I went via Lougheed instead, simply to avoid Hwy 1.

* Rebuild of Hwy 91/SFPR interchange: see here;

Interesting... I wonder if the SFPR will be a proper freeway some day.  Looks like that interchange still won't be freeway/freeway, though, at least at the BC 91 end.

It's damn close to being freeway-to-freeway but indeed not quite. The next spot to focus should be the Tillbury Connector; upgrading that to an interchange would create a 25km freeway from Delta to Surrey. There would still be work to do in Surrey (Old Yale, Bridgeview, 116 Ave) but it would allow for maybe some speed limit increases south/west of Old Yale.

[jakeroot]

The Haney bypass quickened travelling for years but itself became congested and had traffic signals added.

I was wondering when that was built and was a bit astonished that it was at least the late 70s, maybe 1980. To go that long without some lane improvements seems pretty crazy.

[AsphaltPlanet]

Some photos of the Trans-Canada Highway in BC through the Cape Horn interchange.

Two views looking westerly from just west of the Port Mann Bridge:

http://www.asphaltplanet.ca/BC/1/BC1_cl_DSC03641_west_Jul20_24x16.jpg


http://www.asphaltplanet.ca/BC/1/BC1_cl_DSC03648_west_Jul20_24x16.jpg

Two views looking easterly towards the Port Mann Bridge from the King Edward Drive overpass:

http://www.asphaltplanet.ca/BC/1/BC1_cl_DSC03683_west_c_Jul20_24x16.jpg


http://www.asphaltplanet.ca/BC/1/BC1_cl_DSC03688_east_WB_Jul20_24x16.jpg

Two views looking easterly towards Vancouver:

http://www.asphaltplanet.ca/BC/1/BC1_cl_DSC03673_west_c_Jul20_24x16.jpg


http://www.asphaltplanet.ca/BC/1/BC1_cl_DSC03672_west_WB_Jul20_24x16.jpg

[AsphaltPlanet]

The Big Orange Bridge in Nelson, BC:


http://www.asphaltplanet.ca/BC/3A/BC3A_DSC01024_Jul20_24x16.jpg


http://www.asphaltplanet.ca/BC/3A/BC3A_DSC01050_Jul20_24x16.jpg

[Bruce]

Anyone know why BC bothered to build partial/full cloverleafs at some seemingly-rural junctions on BC 1 in the Fraser Valley? BC 15, BC 10, and BC 13 don't seem like they would really warrant this kind of treatment.

[jakeroot]

Anyone know why BC bothered to build partial/full cloverleafs at some seemingly-rural junctions on BC 1 in the Fraser Valley? BC 15, BC 10, and BC 13 don't seem like they would really warrant this kind of treatment.

The BC-15 interchange definitely warrants something high capacity, as it's the terminus of the South Fraser Perimeter Road (BC-17) with regular traffic flowing into it from the north. If you notice in the interchange layout (Parclo A4), the left turn onto southbound BC-15 is a merge rather than a full signal; this design allows all movements onto Hwy 1 to be free-flow for BC-17. No other "regular" design would have permitted this.

As to BC-10 and BC-13, I think they're just relics from a different era. The province may have expected major growth in the Fraser Valley and Metro Vancouver once the freeway was finished, so cloverleafs were chosen to manage traffic. Growth patterns changed over the ensuing decades and now they're just overbuilt. This is likely why new and modified interchanges, apart from BC-15/BC-17, have been diamonds or SPUIs, since those are sufficient.

Perhaps some may think the cloverleafs were designed to handle a future freeway terminus. I may disagree as none of the cloverleafs, including the extinct one at 200 St, had any sort of traits of interchanges designed to handle a freeway terminus. There's no grading to indicate a future overpass, the loops are all designed to meet the exiting overpasses perfectly, no cleared nearby right-of-way, etc.

[TXtoNJ]

Anyone know why BC bothered to build partial/full cloverleafs at some seemingly-rural junctions on BC 1 in the Fraser Valley? BC 15, BC 10, and BC 13 don't seem like they would really warrant this kind of treatment.

The BC-15 interchange definitely warrants something high capacity, as it's the terminus of the South Fraser Perimeter Road (BC-17) with regular traffic flowing into it from the north. If you notice in the interchange layout (Parclo A4), the left turn onto southbound BC-15 is a merge rather than a full signal; this design allows all movements onto Hwy 1 to be free-flow for BC-17. No other "regular" design would have permitted this.

As to BC-10 and BC-13, I think they're just relics from a different era. The province may have expected major growth in the Fraser Valley and Metro Vancouver once the freeway was finished, so cloverleafs were chosen to manage traffic. Growth patterns changed over the ensuing decades and now they're just overbuilt. This is likely why new and modified interchanges, apart from BC-15/BC-17, have been diamonds or SPUIs, since those are sufficient.

Perhaps some may think the cloverleafs were designed to handle a future freeway terminus. I may disagree as none of the cloverleafs, including the extinct one at 200 St, had any sort of traits of interchanges designed to handle a freeway terminus. There's no grading to indicate a future overpass, the loops are all designed to meet the exiting overpasses perfectly, no cleared nearby right-of-way, etc.

Yes, I'm inclined to think that the answer is essentially "because that's how it was done on the 401 in Ontario".

[splashflash]

Anyone know why BC bothered to build partial/full cloverleafs at some seemingly-rural junctions on BC 1 in the Fraser Valley? BC 15, BC 10, and BC 13 don't seem like they would really warrant this kind of treatment.

The BC-15 interchange definitely warrants something high capacity, as it's the terminus of the South Fraser Perimeter Road (BC-17) with regular traffic flowing into it from the north. If you notice in the interchange layout (Parclo A4), the left turn onto southbound BC-15 is a merge rather than a full signal; this design allows all movements onto Hwy 1 to be free-flow for BC-17. No other "regular" design would have permitted this.

As to BC-10 and BC-13, I think they're just relics from a different era. The province may have expected major growth in the Fraser Valley and Metro Vancouver once the freeway was finished, so cloverleafs were chosen to manage traffic. Growth patterns changed over the ensuing decades and now they're just overbuilt. This is likely why new and modified interchanges, apart from BC-15/BC-17, have been diamonds or SPUIs, since those are sufficient.

Perhaps some may think the cloverleafs were designed to handle a future freeway terminus. I may disagree as none of the cloverleafs, including the extinct one at 200 St, had any sort of traits of interchanges designed to handle a freeway terminus. There's no grading to indicate a future overpass, the loops are all designed to meet the exiting overpasses perfectly, no cleared nearby right-of-way, etc.

Yes, I'm inclined to think that the answer is essentially "because that's how it was done on the 401 in Ontario".

The interchanges at Vedder Road in Chilliwack and McCallum Road, Mount Lehman Road, and Clearbrook Road in    Abbotsford were cloverleafs too, but all replaced and widened in the past twenty years.  The overpass guard rails do look similar to the 401 Ontario ones don't they?

[jakeroot]

Anyone know why BC bothered to build partial/full cloverleafs at some seemingly-rural junctions on BC 1 in the Fraser Valley? BC 15, BC 10, and BC 13 don't seem like they would really warrant this kind of treatment.

The BC-15 interchange definitely warrants something high capacity, as it's the terminus of the South Fraser Perimeter Road (BC-17) with regular traffic flowing into it from the north. If you notice in the interchange layout (Parclo A4), the left turn onto southbound BC-15 is a merge rather than a full signal; this design allows all movements onto Hwy 1 to be free-flow for BC-17. No other "regular" design would have permitted this.

As to BC-10 and BC-13, I think they're just relics from a different era. The province may have expected major growth in the Fraser Valley and Metro Vancouver once the freeway was finished, so cloverleafs were chosen to manage traffic. Growth patterns changed over the ensuing decades and now they're just overbuilt. This is likely why new and modified interchanges, apart from BC-15/BC-17, have been diamonds or SPUIs, since those are sufficient.

Perhaps some may think the cloverleafs were designed to handle a future freeway terminus. I may disagree as none of the cloverleafs, including the extinct one at 200 St, had any sort of traits of interchanges designed to handle a freeway terminus. There's no grading to indicate a future overpass, the loops are all designed to meet the exiting overpasses perfectly, no cleared nearby right-of-way, etc.

Yes, I'm inclined to think that the answer is essentially "because that's how it was done on the 401 in Ontario".

The interchanges at Vedder Road in Chilliwack and McCallum Road, Mount Lehman Road, and Clearbrook Road in    Abbotsford were cloverleafs too, but all replaced and widened in the past twenty years.  The overpass guard rails do look similar to the 401 Ontario ones don't they?

I don't think I realized Vedder Road was a cloverleaf. The apparent right-of-way is so small, I would have assumed maybe a wide-ish diamond at most.

Here's a shot of it from 1999, looking northeast:

[TXtoNJ]

Anyone know why BC bothered to build partial/full cloverleafs at some seemingly-rural junctions on BC 1 in the Fraser Valley? BC 15, BC 10, and BC 13 don't seem like they would really warrant this kind of treatment.

The BC-15 interchange definitely warrants something high capacity, as it's the terminus of the South Fraser Perimeter Road (BC-17) with regular traffic flowing into it from the north. If you notice in the interchange layout (Parclo A4), the left turn onto southbound BC-15 is a merge rather than a full signal; this design allows all movements onto Hwy 1 to be free-flow for BC-17. No other "regular" design would have permitted this.

As to BC-10 and BC-13, I think they're just relics from a different era. The province may have expected major growth in the Fraser Valley and Metro Vancouver once the freeway was finished, so cloverleafs were chosen to manage traffic. Growth patterns changed over the ensuing decades and now they're just overbuilt. This is likely why new and modified interchanges, apart from BC-15/BC-17, have been diamonds or SPUIs, since those are sufficient.

Perhaps some may think the cloverleafs were designed to handle a future freeway terminus. I may disagree as none of the cloverleafs, including the extinct one at 200 St, had any sort of traits of interchanges designed to handle a freeway terminus. There's no grading to indicate a future overpass, the loops are all designed to meet the exiting overpasses perfectly, no cleared nearby right-of-way, etc.

Yes, I'm inclined to think that the answer is essentially "because that's how it was done on the 401 in Ontario".

The interchanges at Vedder Road in Chilliwack and McCallum Road, Mount Lehman Road, and Clearbrook Road in    Abbotsford were cloverleafs too, but all replaced and widened in the past twenty years.  The overpass guard rails do look similar to the 401 Ontario ones don't they?

I've been taking the Mt Lehman exit a bunch lately, and let me tell you - that old configuration looks like an absolute nightmare

[Bruce]

BC government chooses the tunnel option for the George Massey Tunnel replacement. 6 GP lanes, 2 bus lanes, to open by 2030.

https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/george-massey-tunnel-immersed-business-case

[SectorZ]

BC government chooses the tunnel option for the George Massey Tunnel replacement. 6 GP lanes, 2 bus lanes, to open by 2030.

https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/george-massey-tunnel-immersed-business-case

I've never seen a ped/bicycle access part of a tunnel. That is pretty freakin' cool.

[Bruce]

BC government chooses the tunnel option for the George Massey Tunnel replacement. 6 GP lanes, 2 bus lanes, to open by 2030.

https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/george-massey-tunnel-immersed-business-case

I've never seen a ped/bicycle access part of a tunnel. That is pretty freakin' cool.

The Mount Baker Tunnel on I-90 in Seattle also has a separate tunnel bore for the pedestrian/bike trail. It's a fun ride.



Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/fchemotti/11113134665

[bcroadguy]

BC government chooses the tunnel option for the George Massey Tunnel replacement. 6 GP lanes, 2 bus lanes, to open by 2030.

https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/george-massey-tunnel-immersed-business-case

If they decided to stick with with the 10 lane bridge plan the previous government had, we could have had a better crossing for less money that probably would have been completed by now (or in a year or two). Plus we would have a vastly improved freeway on either side, complete with a stack interchange at Steveston Hwy, instead of keeping the far too narrow and shitty 1950s-60s "freeway" that exists currently (the only "upgrade" is wider shoulders / bus lanes).

Near / inside the Massey Tunnel, with the counter flow lanes that have been active since the 1980s (meaning the off-peak direction has ONE lane, undivided from oncoming traffic, on a fucking major FREEWAY in a major city by Canadian standards in the year TWENTY FUCKING ONE), if you're driving in the peak direction, you still have three lanes. There will be a new bus lane, but who the fuck is taking a bus from DELTA, the super-burbs.

The newish BC NDP government seems to be pretty popular, partially due to the BC Liberals that governed from 2001-2017 (despite the name, they are centre-right) being corrupt af, but every news website / Reddit comment section I have ever seen about the Massey Tunnel Replacement is overwhelmingly critical towards the NDP's decision on this crossing, and their decision on the Patullo Bridge, where they decided to replace a 4 lane bridge with a 4 lane bridge and not build proper connections to Highway 17 which it passes over.

This is yet another example of BC underbuilding highway infrastructure that they will shortly be regretted.

Highway 17 (the SFPR) opened not very long ago (2012 I believe). Not even 10 years later, we're upgrading numerous signalized intersections to interchanges and dealing with the fallout of numerous trucks tipping over due to building the road to an 80 km/h "signalized divided rural arterial standard" with numerous sharp curves (sharp for trucks, totally ok for a passenger car to take at 110 km/h) instead of building the road to a proper freeway standard (this is the BC Liberals' fault) for far more money that it would have cost to do it right the first time.

Highway 91, which is a complete freeway now (FINALLY), had signalized intersections until about 2-3 years ago when the 72nd Street interchange was completed. When the road opened in ~1986, the Alex Fraser Bridge had four lanes (with the capacity for six). It was expanded to six lanes a year later (and expanded to 7 lanes 2ish years ago through narrowing shoulders, lane widths, and the lowering the speed limit). It also had signalized intersections on either side of the bridge, but that was such a disaster that they build interchanges a few years later.

Even Highway 1 through the Vancouver area wasn't even a full freeway until the mid-1990s.

BC's highway system is pretty sad honestly.