Two of the new Cariboo Road overpass’s three lanes opened Tuesday as the Transportation Investment Corporation gets one step closer to finishing the Port Mann/Highway 1 Improvement Project.
“It’s really a bit of a milestone for the project because it’s one of the last pieces to be constructed,” said Greg Johnson, communications manager for TI Corp. “All of the other overpasses (along the Trans-Canada Highway) have been built and opened, and this is the last one.”
Construction on the Cariboo Road overpass began last fall and is nearing completion. The overpass is intended to have two lanes northbound and one lane southbound, but crews must demolish the original overpass before they can complete the second northbound lane.
“That overpass was built in 1962 and it’s significantly different than the kind of structure we have over Highway 1 in the new overpass,” said Johnson, noting that the teardown of the old overpass should be finished by the end of the summer. “A lot of this existing infrastructure dates back to the early ’60s and it’s our responsibility to make sure that they reflect the kind of traffic and use that they see today.”
In addition to vehicle traffic, the overpass will feature a 3.5-metre pedestrian/cyclist multi-user path.
“It’s a safer overpass that is better suited to today’s traffic,” he said.
Johnson added that most of the remaining work in the improvement project is on the Port Mann Bridge. He said they hope to finish widening the bridge to 10 lanes by the end of the year.
