| World / Canada / British Columbia / White Rock, 21 km from center | Coordinates: 49°13'13"N 122°48'46"W |
The Port Mann Bridge is a steel tied arch bridge that spans the Fraser River connecting Coquitlam to Surrey in British Columbia near Vancouver. The bridge consists of three spans with an orthotropic deck carrying five lanes of Trans-Canada Highway traffic, with approach spans of three steel plate girders and concrete deck. The total length of the Port Mann is 2093 m (6867 ft.), including approach spans. The main span is: 366 m (1200 ft.) plus the two 110 m (360 ft.) spans on either side.
It is the only fixed link in the Greater Vancouver Regional District that does not have at least one bus route crossing its length. This and the fact that the northbound approach span merges three lanes of traffic into one means that the Port Mann Bridge is highly congested during rush hour.
Due to the heavy traffic westbound on Highway 1 from the east approaching the bridge (often backed up towards Langley), proposals have called for a new bridge to the south of the original, and widening westbound Highway 1 for higher capacity. Congestions can also occur on the eastbound lanes, often due to accidents. The current proposal of twinning the bridge and widening the Trans-Canada highway from Surrey to the Ironworkers Memorial Second Narrows Crossing in Vancouver is controversial. It has been opposed by most local municipalities, environmental organizations and urban planners. It is held that doubling the highway capacity is a short-sighted plan which will only lead to twice as many cars in the near future. Many groups urge the Minister of Transportation, Kevin Falcon, to consider more sustainable solutions to reducing congestion, like rapid transit lines, and greatly improved bus routes. Thus far, public forums have left questions unanswered, and alternatives unconsidered. Many citizens and citizen groups have called on the government to open up the proposal to public scrutiny.
The Ministry of Transportation contends that increased congestion and pollution lowers quality of life for residents and workers, and increases costs to move goods and services. It is also projected that the Port of Vancouver will see a quadrupling of activity by the year 2020. Coupled with population growth, this economic growth means more pressure on regional transportation infrastructure, such as highways, SkyTrain and intercity buses. The existing roads and bridges do not support this forecast population and economic growth.
Environmentalists have pointed out that the twinning of the Port Mann has less to do with allieviating congestion than has been suggested, but is rather motivated by a governmental goal to increase Vancouver's port share by twofold over the next decade. More lanes on the bridge means easier access for trucks between the Port and Canadian routes inland, and the I-5 corridor south. This is especially important to port traffic since the port does not operate at night, when the roads are largely empty. Since the privitization of CN Rail in 1992, it is politically easier to subsidize trucking indirectly through road building, than rail directly through the input of funds. The result is short sighted planning, which operates against the goals of reducing CO2 emissions, and encouraging alternatives to individual car based transportation.
Category: bridge port mann
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19 months ago anonymous | +1 |
 
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This bridge was originally designed as a 6 lane bridge, but was reduced to a four lane bridge at contruction to save costs, politicians visioning that they would never need more than four lanes at this location. Currently the bridge is three lanes eastbound, and two lanes westbound. Mornings, traffic is usually backed up between 192nd st and 200th st in Surrey, often reaching as far as Langley, and evenings, snarls traffic all the way to 1st ave in Vancouver. | ||||
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3 months ago Rob | +1 |
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Yes the bridge was built at 4 lanes and was retrofitted to add a fifth lane later on. | ||||
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