[SpongeG]

an interesting read

From sea to sky, a true superhighway

It almost cost B.C. its bid for the 2010 Winter Games. But an incredible engineering feat is turning a deadly strip of road into a safe - and spectacular - route to travel through the mountains

MARK HUME

VANCOUVER -- Swerving his truck between orange pylons to pull onto a narrow shoulder, engineer Rod Vanwerkhoven glances up a dizzying wall of black rock that looms above the Sea to Sky Highway.

"In a lot of places the cliffs are so steep you can't even work on the rock face. It's like a 300-foot vertical right there," he says, before pulling back onto the hazardous road that once threatened to cost British Columbia its chance to host the 2010 Olympic Games.

It didn't, but only because the province undertook a massive, 100-kilometre, $775-million engineering feat.

A 600- to 800-strong team is moving 2.4 million cubic meters of fill, in one stretch alone blasting away enough rock to fill 500 railway boxcars. They are laying pavement over what was once thin air and, in the process, turning an unsafe mountain road - which has about 400 accidents annually, and has had 40 deaths in five years - into a modern highway where traffic will speed up and the accident rate will drop.

Long regarded as one of the most dangerous and beautiful drives in B.C., Highway 99 was considered such a scenic selling point that Vancouver and Whistler initially pitched its Olympic bid as "the Sea to Sky Games," highlighting the dramatic natural setting.

But when International Olympic Committee members got a look at the narrow, winding road, which clings to the precipitous terrain of the Coast Mountains like a frightened snake, they questioned whether Games venues should really be separated by such a slow, twisting route.

In 2002, Vancouver Organizing Committee chairman Jack Poole identified the need for a better highway as a possible deal-breaker in the bid and urged the government "to tell us what the solution will be."

In 2003, shortly before the Games were awarded, IOC evaluation team chairman Gerhard Heiberg set off alarms when he returned from a drive to Whistler to declare it was "too far from Vancouver" to host venues. "You need to shorten the [driving] time," he said.

Fearing the bid might fail, the B.C. government responded by promising an enormous improvement project that had been talked about for years. Since it began in 2004, the project has left engineers like Mr. Vanwerkhoven with some daunting challenges.

"We can't even imagine how to do blasting there," he said of the cliff that vanishes into clouds above the highway on a stretch between Lions Bay and Porteau Cove. On the other side of the road the slope plunges down into Howe Sound, where a CN Rail line squeezes along the waterfront, limiting the space in which crews have to work.

If you are an engineer whose job it is to make this busy highway wider, safer and faster in time for the Games, this is what it means to be caught between a rock and a hard place: On one side is a solid mountain wall; on the other, a sudden drop to the sea.

But Mr. Vanwerkhoven, who is with the design-build contractor Peter Kiewit Sons Co., doesn't hesitate when asked where the road goes from here.

"We build out there," he said, gesturing to the ocean side where a work crew is constructing what is technically known as a mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) retaining wall.

In some places, crews have been able to cut away rock on the upslope of the highway. But that isn't an option when the cliffs above are so high that millions of tonnes of rock would have to be removed. Here, the only solution is to go out over the bank, where a crew is building an MSE wall with layers of crushed rock, grids of heavy wire and hundreds of anchors buried deep in bedrock.

About 60 MSE walls are being built on the 16-kilometre section Mr. Vanwerkhoven is working on, which will allow traffic to eventually travel on pavement where there was once nothing but air.

And the entire project must be undertaken without closing the existing highway because there is no alternative route to Whistler, other than a five-hour detour through Lillooet.

Challenged with building a new highway without choking off tourist or commuter traffic, the contractors came up with a strategy that forbids road closings of more than 20 minutes at a time. Even when crews blast away part of a cliff face, strewing rock debris on the road, they must work within that window - setting and detonating charges and cleaning the pavement of rubble in the time it takes to have a coffee break.

To keep on schedule and finish the entire project by the fall of 2009, the crews have maximized night work, when traffic is at a minimum. And where possible, they confine their efforts to narrow, linear strips, alongside of or sometimes between lanes, so that some 14,000 vehicles a day can pass with minimal delay.

Space is so tight on this project that construction material, including mountains of gravel produced on site by portable rock crushers, is stored on the road shoulder because there is simply nowhere else to stockpile it.

Despite the daunting logistical problems, the Sea to Sky improvement project is now more than half finished. Three major sections will be done by this fall and the final four sections, right up to Function Junction in Whistler, will be done by summer or fall of 2009.

"On budget, and ahead of schedule," said Rob Ahola, a construction director and a private consultant working for the Ministry of Transportation. He shakes his head as if he doesn't quite believe it himself.

"It's going remarkably smoothly."

SAFETY FIRST

The Sea to Sky project was on the B.C. government's books for years, but it took the Olympics to serve as a catalyst.

Even without the Games, Mr. Ahola said, the upgrade would have been needed because of rapid growth in communities such as Lions Bay, Squamish, Furry Creek and Whistler. The population along the corridor is expected to almost double by 2025. Instead of 14,000 vehicles a day, there will soon be 22,000.

As he drives the Sea to Sky Highway, passing crews that are busy cutting through solid rock abutments or building walls on the edge of such sheer drops that workers must be tethered like mountain climbers, Mr. Ahola sees beyond the temporary chaos.

"It's hard to visualize what the future looks like, but I can see it," he said, stopping his car near the Eagle Ridge cutoff, a controversial section in West Vancouver that for a time was blocked by environmental protesters.

On the slope above, drills are sheering away rock and excavators are loading trucks that can carry about 34 tonnes at a time.

The $130-million section will cut a huge corner off the old highway, completed in 1957, and separate through traffic from the busy Horseshoe Bay ferry terminal.

"It will sweep down here," said Mr. Ahola, gesturing to where the foundations for an interchange are in place for ramps that will merge with the Upper Levels Highway.

Protesters, opposed to damage to the wetlands and forest on Eagle Ridge Bluffs, blocked work here for months until they were kept away by a court injunction.

Mostly this highway project has been welcomed by communities, however, not because it will shorten the 90-minute drive from Vancouver to Whistler by 15 minutes, but because it promises to cut the terrible accident rate by 30 per cent.

The sharp horizontal curves, narrow shoulders and limited passing opportunities gave the old Sea to Sky Highway an accident density rate (collisions per kilometre per year) three times the provincial average. A 1999 study found 2,155 crashes during a five-year period, mostly in 20 hazardous locations including the appropriately named Snake Hill.

The study stated that frustrated drivers were engaging in risky behaviour because "passing is virtually impossible and platooning [where vehicles bunch together] becomes intense when slower vehicles or other interruptions are encountered."

A government safety committee that looked at the highway in 1997 concluded that unsafe speed and dangerous driving accounted for 40 per cent of accidents.

"Many drivers are following too closely, cutting people off, crossing a double solid line, and speeding," stated the study, which concluded bad highway design encouraged bad driving.

Mr. Ahola said the dangerous curves and bottlenecks are being replaced by a highway with improved sightlines, gentler curves and wider shoulders. Although there will still be some two-lane sections, the new highway will be mostly three or four lanes, with lots of passing opportunities to eliminate vehicle platooning, and an 80 km/h speed limit will replace the mostly 50 and 60 km/h zones that now exist.

The project is utilizing context-sensitive design, or CSD, to encourage better driving. The approach analyzes the way drivers process the information streaming at them on road geometry, other vehicles and traffic-control devices as they make decisions on which lane to be in, how fast to go, how close to follow or how to approach a curve.

"Rather than accommodate driver behaviour, which is what most highway design does in North America, CSD influences driver behaviour with visual and auditory cues," states a Ministry of Transportation newsletter.

Mr. Ahola said the "behavioural cues" include wider painted lines, rumble strips that focus the attention of drivers, and design features, including special signs, that will make it clear to drivers when they are approaching communities or intersections.

The use of an anti-skid surface, improved lighting, roadside reflectors, highly reflective paint markings and median barriers will also be used to promote safer driving and cut down on accidents.

Narrow bridges will be widened or replaced (about 43 new or improved bridges are being built), and in the process they will be upgraded to withstand 200-year seismic or flood events.

"There will also be better rock-fall protection," said Mr. Ahola as he drove past a cliff face. "Now, when rock falls off it will land in the ditch, beside the road, not on it."

After weaving through construction zones, Mr. Ahola smoothly accelerates on a new, four-lane section. Traffic spreads out and for a moment the focus isn't on the next harrowing corner, but the view of Howe Sound and the snow-capped mountains.

But as he slows down for a two-lane section, a dump truck suddenly roars past, passing on a double line. Mr. Ahola raises his eyebrows in surprise. For some, it is obvious this highway can't be built fast enough.

THE FAST LANE TO WHISTLER

In preparation for the 2010 Olympics, the meandering 100-kilometre thoroughfare between West Vancouver and Whistler is undergoing a $600-million overhaul aimed at creating a safer, straighter highway with improved sightlines, more passing lanes and wider shoulders. The B.C. government hopes the improvements will reduce travel time between the two cities by 15 minutes and mean fewer road closings and fatalities - the highway currently has about 300 accidents a year.

A. RETAINING WALLS

Mechanically stabilized earth retaining walls create an artificial cliff face that allows builders to extend the highway toward Howe Sound by an extra two lanes.

Rebar anchors concrete slabs to the cliff face.

Soil and gravel backfill is trucked in and compacted.

The wall is brought up in stages to the height of the current highway.

B. HALF BRIDGES

When the cliff is too high or narrow to build retaining walls, half bridges can support two Vancouver-bound lanes.

C. SAFER CURVES

The cliff face is being dynamited to accommodate gentler curves, particularly near Lions Bay. Improved sightlines and more consistent driving speeds should reduce accidents.

FOUR AREAS OF CONSTRUCTION

1. MURRIN PARK TO SQUAMISH

Upgrades will create a four-lane divided highway with median barriers throughout. In Squamish, curbs, gutters, sidewalks and improved lighting will be added.

2. LIONS BAY TO MURRIN PARK

Three- and four-lane passing sections are being added. Four-lane sections will have a median barrier.

3. SQUAMISH TO WHISTLER

This section will be widened to three lanes throughout, including improved two-lane sections and alternating passing lanes in each direction.

4. WEST VANCOUVER TO LIONS BAY

Four-lane sections with median barriers are being added, curves straightened, sightlines improved and shoulders widened.

BY THE NUMBERS

$775-million: 2006 cost estimate for the Highway 99 improvement project.

100-kilometre

-long project will add 219 retaining walls, 74 km of rumble strips and 68 km of wider shoulders.

46: bridges are being improved or built, with new structures made high enough to withstand a 200-year flood event.

5,707: crashes, 1991 to 1999.

30: per cent reduction in accidents expected.

15: minutes less travel time between West Vancouver and Whistler.

450,000: tonnes of asphalt ill be used.

2.4 million: cubic metres of fill will be moved during construction, enough to fill 500 railway boxcars.

600 to 800: people to work on the project.

80,000: cubic metres of rock was blasted and drilled from the road right-of-way at Darrell Bay.

SOURCES: THE B.C. MINISTRY OF TRANSPORTATION, PETER KIEWIT SONS CO., AGGREGATES & ROADBUILDING MAGAZINE AND THE B.C. AUDITOR-GENERAL.

http://images.theglobeandmail.com/v5/images/newspaper/20080209/sectionA-490.jpg?d=20080209

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20080209.BCSEATOSKY09/TPStory/National

[zivan56]

While the upgrades may make it a respectable highway in some parts, it's nothing compared to what I have seen in Austria for example. Superhighway is something that it is not for sure.

[Jared]

"VANCOUVER -- Swerving his truck between orange pylons to pull onto a narrow shoulder, engineer Rod Vanwerkhoven glances up a dizzying wall of black rock that looms above the Sea to Sky Highway."

Wow, small world. This guy's son is in Civil Eng. at UBC with me.

[clooless]

While the upgrades may make it a respectable highway in some parts, it's nothing compared to what I have seen in Austria for example. Superhighway is something that it is not for sure.

About ten years ago I took relatives from Europe on a trip through the Rockies to Banff and a relative asked why we weren't taking the main highway. When I told him this was the main highway I could tell by the look on his face that he was taken aback how this could be Canada's major east-west highway. Our highways are an embarrassment to our country, especially to visitors from other countries who think we are a modern, developed nation.

[mr.x]

^ Austria and Germany can thank Hitler for their monster highways. He built those autobahn's so he could get his troops and tanks out of the country with ease. With Austria, they actually used highways as runways as well. The population density also makes a freeway network through mountains feasible.

And besides, people usually fly in Canada to get from province to province.

[Lead]

Are they doing any upgrades to the 2-lane sections that are going to remain on the highway?

[mr.x]

Are they doing any upgrades to the 2-lane sections that are going to remain on the highway?

Road curves/turns could be straightened out for greater sightlines, retaining walls, concrete divider between lanes, widened lanes, etc.

[zivan56]

^ Austria and Germany can thank Hitler for their monster highways. He built those autobahn's so he could get his troops and tanks out of the country with ease. With Austria, they actually used highways as runways as well. The population density also makes a freeway network through mountains feasible.

And besides, people usually fly in Canada to get from province to province.

Where did you get that idea? If you follow that logic, then the highways to Alaska must be superior because they were completed in a wartime setting. The roads built in the 30's in Germany were around 2 lanes max, and were not meant for high speed. There are some highways that go through Germany's mostly flat terrain that were built at that time. However, sections I am referring to were built in the 60/70/80's and in Austria. In fact, the viaducts that run through the mountainous terrain comparable to the rockies are relatively new, since the older roads just clung to mountainsides. So weaseling out by arguing with that is not going to work.
Flying wont work, as the only other way there is by train.

[giallo]

Canada is too large with too small of a population. Comparing our national highway to those of Germany and Austria is a little unfair. Having said that, priority should be put on our main sections that cater to the tourists. We pimp the hell out of those mountains abroad, so we should keep the roadway as safe and spectacular as possible.

[dreambrother808]

Germany for example has 70 times our population density... so as has been mentioned, comparing our abilities to build economically feasible stretches of highway is pretty silly.

[johnjimbc]

Isn't that the larger point behind the article? An older, archaic, and inherently dangerous (stats bare it out painfully) road in a growing region is getting a long overdue upgrade - not only the road but also the roadbed it sits upon.

It is a good step forward, same as the large tunnel announcement recently on the National Highway (name escapes me at the moment).

For a country with low population density and huge chunks of countryside, Canada can only achieve the feats of Europe one step at a time. Look at a globe for a minute, and the challenge should be clear. The Canadian Rockies alone would swallow most of Europe - if not all - if you compare the size of the region. Then look on-line for a few population stats.

I just think it is a false analogy to compare Canada's highways to Switzerland or even Germany. It is just not a similar situation at all.

The important thing is Canada is making these improvements. When you're reshaping and expanding road-paths, you are making changes that will benefit transportation for decades - or even hundreds of years to come.

[zivan56]

Canada is too large with too small of a population. Comparing our national highway to those of Germany and Austria is a little unfair.

Well the article is doing just that by calling it a "superhighway." I guess a dirt road in the Gobi desert is a "superhighway" as well?
Canada has a superhighway, it's called the 401...but the sea to sky doesn't even come close.

[officedweller]

While the upgrades may make it a respectable highway in some parts, it's nothing compared to what I have seen in Austria for example. Superhighway is something that it is not for sure.

The Chillon Viaduct in Switzerland one comes to mind (completed 1969):

http://en.structurae.de/structures/data/photos.cfm?ID=s0002286

http://en.structurae.de/files/photos/2018/montreux/chma3.jpg

Or Interstate H3 in Hawaii (Oahu) (from http://www.hawaiihighways.com/photos-Interstate-H3.htm):

http://www.hawaiihighways.com/H3-haiku-viaduct.jpg http://www.hawaiihighways.com/haiku-H3-overlook.jpg

[Stingray2004]

Or perhaps the Autostrada along the Italian Riviera heading westward to Monaco and Nice, France. One of the world's greatest drives in terms of viaducts, tunnels, and bridges along with the Mediterranean panorama.

BC Mot originally was looking at turning the Sea to Sky into a 4-lane freeway standard inclusive of viaducts and some tunneling with interchanges at Porteau Cove, Britannia Beach, and Shannon Falls and a 90 km/hr design standard. Preliminary cost estimate $1.670 billion in 2001 dollars.

They decided to foregoe the gold-plating for now and we ended up with a $670 million highway upgrade instead, albeit to modern standards, a vast improvement over mostly 1957 standards that we have been used to over the years.

http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/seatosky/reports/Highway99_Corridor_Improvements.pdf

[cornholio]

Innsbruck to Bolzano is a fantastic drive, infact I ended up getting of the highway and taking the free local road below and only then could I really see how impressive the main highway was. Basicly it was one long viaduct with tunnels slicing through any hill or mountain in the way all the way to Bolzano...then the highway turned to shit like all the other Italian highways. Also Udine to Villach(italy to Autria) has some huge tunnels, also impressive. Never made it out to Switzerland but im sure there are even more impressive stretches of highway. But yeah like everyone said we dont have the population density to build and suport highways like that out here, and the sea to sky highway is no superhighway.

[mr.x]

Well, the mountain highways into Torino's venues weren't all the great either....they had one highway that was just like the Sea-to-Sky, two-lane roads. Before the Games, there were also protesters against highway expansion.

[officedweller]

Thanks for the link.

[craner]

Or perhaps the Autostrada along the Italian Riviera heading westward to Monaco and Nice, France. One of the world's greatest drives in terms of viaducts, tunnels, and bridges along with the Mediterranean panorama.

BC Mot originally was looking at turning the Sea to Sky into a 4-lane freeway standard inclusive of viaducts and some tunneling with interchanges at Porteau Cove, Britannia Beach, and Shannon Falls and a 90 km/hr design standard. Preliminary cost estimate $1.670 billion in 2001 dollars.

They decided to foregoe the gold-plating for now and we ended up with a $670 million highway upgrade instead, albeit to modern standards, a vast improvement over mostly 1957 standards that we have been used to over the years.

http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/seatosky/reports/Highway99_Corridor_Improvements.pdf

True but I really wish they would have 4-laned the whole thing. I can't believe they didn't actually.:koko:

[eduardo88]

Where did you get that idea? If you follow that logic, then the highways to Alaska must be superior because they were completed in a wartime setting. The roads built in the 30's in Germany were around 2 lanes max, and were not meant for high speed. There are some highways that go through Germany's mostly flat terrain that were built at that time.

That's not true, all Autobahn's built in the Third Reich were 4 lanes and built for maximum speed. They were built to such a high quality that many in former East Germany at time of reunification still had their original pavement. If you look at many Autobahns you can see that the bridges are the original 1930's constructions.

[zivan56]

^^ through mountainous terrain? Nope.

[nikw]

it would have been a "super" highway if they hadn't destroyed the entire area around the eagleridge bluffs, and had put in a tunnel instead. The mess around the Eagleridge interchange is huge, and was completely unneccesary. I drive past it everyday and its absolutely disgusting

[officedweller]

The problem with a tunnel is that you need an alternate route for dangerous goods. If the Sea to Sky were put in a tunnel, then the old highway would still have to be maintained so that dangerous goods could easily travel the route on the surface. That's why the Cassiar Connector is configured with parallel surface exits. For dangerous goods carriers to use the tunnel, they would need a permit - which is administratively burdensome for frequent trips.

Here's the BC Regulation that applies to the George Massey Tunnel and the Cassiar Connector Tunnel (the federal Transportation of Dangerous Goods Regulations requires that dangerous goods (combustible materials, compressed gases, etc.) carriers affix placards to their vehicles - so that's what that reference refers to):

http://www.qp.gov.bc.ca/statreg/reg/T/275_2006.htm

The following is the repealed form of the regulation that was in place until 2006 (you can see specific requirements more easily here i.e. permits may specifiy time of night):

http://www.qp.gov.bc.ca/statreg/reg/T/174_70.htm

[nikw]

And how many container trucks containing dangerous goods would be going up the Sea To Sky? Few, and besides the proposed tunnel was quite large and was barely longer than 1/2 a kilometer.

[Stingray2004]

it would have been a "super" highway if they hadn't destroyed the entire area around the eagleridge bluffs, and had put in a tunnel instead. The mess around the Eagleridge interchange is huge, and was completely unneccesary. I drive past it everyday and its absolutely disgusting

Believe me, when the project is finished you will likely have a wholly different perspective on the improvements.

Remember, prior to the mid-'70's, Hwy 1/99 from Taylor Way to Horseshoe Bay was a windy, twisty 2-lane hwy akin to what the Sea-to-Sky is north of Horseshoe Bay.

During re-construction in the early '70's to a freeway standard, the massive construction /blasting scars on the landscape were butt ugly.

Today, it's one of the nicest drives around and the highway "fits" into the environmental landscape.

And the views of English Bay and environs coming down the new Eagle Ridge Bluffs section of the relocated Hwy 99 will be spectacular!

BTW, you can still see some of the old 2-lane bridges along the cliffside, the old and new high-level Nelson Creek Bridges, for example.

[officedweller]

And how many container trucks containing dangerous goods would be going up the Sea To Sky? Few, and besides the proposed tunnel was quite large and was barely longer than 1/2 a kilometer.

It would have been longer and narrower than the Cassiar Connector Tunnel , yet the Cassiar Connector Tunnel has restrictions.

Unless Squamish and Whistler gets all of their dangerous goods (gasoline, compressed gas cylinders, chemicals for water treatment, mills, etc.) by way of barge or rail, I'm not sure how those goods would otherwise get up there than by the highway.

Remember, prior to the mid-'70's, Hwy 1/99 from Taylor Way to Horseshoe Bay was a windy, twisty 2-lane hwy akin to what the Sea-to-Sky is north of Horseshoe Bay.

During re-construction in the early '70's to a freeway standard, the massive construction /blasting scars on the landscape were butt ugly.

Today, it's one of the nicest drives around and the highway "fits" into the environmental landscape.

I remember when the construction was being done. We would be held up on the road (which was akin to an upper Marine Drive) to the ferry terminal for the blasting.

[cornholio]

And how many container trucks containing dangerous goods would be going up the Sea To Sky? Few, and besides the proposed tunnel was quite large and was barely longer than 1/2 a kilometer.

One lousy pallet of fire extinguishers or a dozen batteries or a pallet of something as stupid as lighter fluid over a 1000lbs is classified as dangerous goods and would require a permit for the tunnel. That is unless a exception is made which is something they try to avoid. As a rule of thumb a placard is required for any regulated dangerous goods that weigh a total of 1000lbs or more. A 1000lbs is nothing really, 10 or so batteries weigh over a 1000lbs and usually you dont see a smaller order then that.

Personally I dont mind the option they choose and in many ways I like it more then the expensive tunnel option. Though sure if money wasnt a issue a tunnel would be pretty good to and it would save a sliver of unused, rocky and very ordinary land.

Also from what I understand the old section of the highway will be retained, though I could be wrong about that.

[nathan6969]

Also from what I understand the old section of the highway will be retained, though I could be wrong about that.


I don't think they've got much choice...there's a lot of ppl who are gonna have trouble accessing their homes if you eliminated the old highway completely.

[twoNeurons]

Though sure if money wasnt a issue a tunnel would be pretty good to and it would save a sliver of unused, rocky and very ordinary land.

Ordinary to all except those living there.

A co-worker lives in Horseshoe bay, and mentions the "blight" on the landscape. It is likely that there are many sections along the S2S that adversely affect the ecosystem... however, this area happens to be closest to human habitation... and truth be told, wealthy ones.

[officedweller]

Also from what I understand the old section of the highway will be retained, though I could be wrong about that.

Yes, with limited access or limited turns/ exits so it can't easily be used as a through route.

[towerguy3]

can we get some pics of the highway?

[towerguy3]

da bridge!

THE MILLAU VIADUCT is part of the new E11 expressway
connecting Paris and Barcelona and
features the highest bridge piers ever constructed.
The tallest is 790 feet high and the overall height
will be an impressive 1,100 feet,
making this the highest bridge in the world.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2302/2274078886_27cbfcfb86.jpg

[SpongeG]

da bridge!

THE MILLAU VIADUCT is part of the new E11 expressway
connecting Paris and Barcelona and
features the highest bridge piers ever constructed.
The tallest is 790 feet high and the overall height
will be an impressive 1,100 feet,
making this the highest bridge in the world.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2302/2274078886_27cbfcfb86.jpg

i love that bridge

whenever its show is on Discovery I watch it :)

[jhausner]

There's a lot of people not making a lot of sense here unfortunately. I've driven it recently on a trip up to Whistler for a week, and the work they ARE doing is amazing. It's a very nice highway.

You have 2 major factors. Cost and population. Firstly the Chillon Viaduct is not that long. 2km at most. Compared to the stretch between Horseshoe Bay and Squamish being at least 45km. That entire stretch for the most part is fairly rugged terrain and to build a viaduct in many spots would have meant either shutting down the highway or constructing it 100 metres out in the water. Recall a major point of the construction was that the highway couldn't be shut down for more than 20 minutes at a time.

Secondly, population. Let's be real, Squamish has a population of about 15k, Whistler 9k, and Pemberton I'll be nice and say 4k. That's 28k people that this highway would technically service. I know I'm not taking into account tourists, but looking again at the Chillon Viaduct which is part of a major highway stretch the A9 traveling along Lac Léman from Geneva stretching through well over half a million people worth of population. It justifies cost in that scale.

Building a 'superhighway' to Whistler would probably tally $2-4 billion at least given the highway 'upgrades' are costing nearly $1 billion just alone. Not to mention you're damned if you do damned if you don't and half the people complaining that it isn't a superhighway, if it WAS built to the massive scale would in turn be complaining that it 1) costs to much and 2) hurts the environment too much anyway.

So really, you guys should see the highway for what it is. It's amazingly beautiful, I'd put the views up with anything in Europe and I've travelled throughout Europe many times, and with the arguable exception of Eagle Ridge Bluff (depends on who you talk to), is keeping the environment of the region fairly static.

Would you rather the government have spent 2-4 billion on a 4 way superhighway all the way to Whistler to service foreign travelers and a population of 28k, or spend 2-4 billion extra in the Vancouver region with 2.4+ billion people spending hours in traffic to get to work every day, 75% of which have no alternative except driving their cars?

I'd argue that kind of money could even be better spent expanding highway 1 in places between here and Calgary, but then again as someone has pointed out, you can fit most of Europe in BC and Alberta alone and when you compare the two, you're talking 750 million people compared to 8 million people.

That's a big population difference. Heck Europe is 3 times as populated as the entire United States to our south. They can justify massive highways. We can't.

[lightrail]

Secondly, population. Let's be real, Squamish has a population of about 15k, Whistler 9k, and Pemberton I'll be nice and say 4k. That's 28k people that this highway would technically service. I know I'm not taking into account tourists, but looking again at the Chillon Viaduct which is part of a major highway stretch the A9 traveling along Lac Léman from Geneva stretching through well over half a million people worth of population. It justifies cost in that scale.



You're missing an important point - 50,000+ accommodation beds in Whistler - that is a lot of traffic.

[LeftCoaster]

^Not compared to the areas these highways in Europe serve... they are some of the most densly populated areas on earth and they need they type of infrastructure they have. To build something like that here just to emulate them would be sheer lunacy.

And besides the curves and openness of the road just allows the passangers (and adventuresome drivers) to appreciate the beautiful scenery even more. Kinda tough to appreciate the sea to sky from a tunnel!

[SpongeG]

yeah once tyou get to whistler thats it

that thing in europe helps link paris to barcelona - two major cities at either end

[mr.x]

You're missing an important point - 50,000+ accommodation beds in Whistler - that is a lot of traffic.

Not to mention Whistler being $1-billion or one-tenth of B.C.'s tourism industry.

[SpongeG]

yah but for tourists thats part of the trip the scenis ride up :)

[agrant]

You're missing an important point - 50,000+ accommodation beds in Whistler - that is a lot of traffic.That's still a relatively small number in this case, even if all the beds get filled.

[mr.x]

Tennis superstar Andre Agassi blasts Whistler highway as "shocker" after driving it
Agassi aghast

By BILL TIELEMAN, 24 HOURS

Former tennis superstar Andre Agassi showed his grand slam style while visiting Vancouver last week, calling the Sea-to-Sky highway to Whistler and the 2010 Olympics "a shocker" after driving it.

Agassi spoke to a crowd of nearly 5,000 at GM Place for "The Power Within" event along with style diva Martha Stewart, music producer Quincy Jones and other speakers.

But don't count on him driving to the winter Olympics despite B.C.'s $600-million highway improvement project.

"I like everything up here but one thing," Agassi said Wednesday about Vancouver. "We drove to Whistler yesterday and - what's up with your highways? That's a shocker! And it was that way a year ago."

Earlier at the event Toronto comedian and emcee James Cunningham also joked about the Whistler highway, calling it "so relaxing" to drive with "a sheer drop off to the sea on one side and guys packing dynamite into rock on the other."

[clooless]

"I like everything up here but one thing," Agassi said Wednesday about Vancouver. "We drove to Whistler yesterday and - what's up with your highways?

Still think our highways don't leave a negative impression of our country on visitors?

But it's OK because everyone will just fly between destinations.

[Hourglass]

You could get away with a sub-par highway if there were alternatives (train or fast ferry comes to mind). I always felt that improvements to the Sea-to-Sky highway should have been accompanied by a regular and frequent train services from North Van to Whistler. If countries like Switzerland with its terrain constraints and Norway with its relatively low population density can do it (and my experience is that Switzerland has very good train service), why can't Canada?

[Rusty Gull]

I always felt that improvements to the Sea-to-Sky highway should have been accompanied by a regular and frequent train services from North Van to Whistler.

Exactly, and -especially- because the track already exists!! How much more simple can it get? Yet all we can come up with is a once-daily tourist train?

[clooless]

I completely agree. We need major improvements to rail service in this country. Europe is so far ahead of us in this regard it's stupid.

[twoNeurons]

Europe lends itself to rail service. Major city centres every few hundred km.

[nathan6969]

Still think our highways don't leave a negative impression of our country on visitors?

But it's OK because everyone will just fly between destinations.

I don't understand what he has a negative impression of...he doesn't like the existing highway, well thats what the new one is for...so whats the problem.

[LeftCoaster]

If you drive on the sea to sky right now it seems like even more of a death trap then before becuase of all the construction. There are U/C portions where there isnt even a guardrail to the cliff side of the road. It is really hairy.

Once it is done it will forsure not get this kind of reaciton.

[cornholio]

Switzerland, Norway and the whole of Europe has a population density way, way, way higher then BC and Canada. There is no way that we could justify building inter rail service in Canada except between a few destinations and few tourist routes. It also isnt that easy to just stick commuter rail on the Vancouver to Whistler track because its used for freight trains and is only one tracked, with sharp turns and right up to a cliff side for most of the way. There is no way you can have a semi frequent, reliable and at least as fast as a car/bus rail service on that route without investing crap loads of money.

[Nutterbug]

Tennis superstar Andre Agassi blasts Whistler highway as "shocker" after driving it
Agassi aghast

By BILL TIELEMAN, 24 HOURS

Former tennis superstar Andre Agassi showed his grand slam style while visiting Vancouver last week, calling the Sea-to-Sky highway to Whistler and the 2010 Olympics "a shocker" after driving it.

Agassi spoke to a crowd of nearly 5,000 at GM Place for "The Power Within" event along with style diva Martha Stewart, music producer Quincy Jones and other speakers.

But don't count on him driving to the winter Olympics despite B.C.'s $600-million highway improvement project.

"I like everything up here but one thing," Agassi said Wednesday about Vancouver. "We drove to Whistler yesterday and - what's up with your highways? That's a shocker! And it was that way a year ago."

Earlier at the event Toronto comedian and emcee James Cunningham also joked about the Whistler highway, calling it "so relaxing" to drive with "a sheer drop off to the sea on one side and guys packing dynamite into rock on the other."

Was poor wittle Andre disappointed that the highway wasn't up to Interstate standards, and he had to keep his speed under 100 and slow down for the occasional blind turn?

[jhausner]

Still think our highways don't leave a negative impression of our country on visitors?

But it's OK because everyone will just fly between destinations.

You can't please everyone. I've spent time in Paris and absolutely hate the city with a passion. It's ugly, the people are rude as all heck, and I went there with a completely open mind.

Do you think they care about my opinion? I know some people that love the city.

Same deal here. If the Sea-to-Sky highway was 5 lanes wide and straight and you could get to Whistler in 25 minutes, some people will complain there aren't enough Palm Trees, or they didn't get to see Deer on the side of the road so it sucks.

1 opinion doesn't matter. And you have to admit, while under construction, the highway in parts feels like some of the hunting/logging roads I trek on in my 4x4 up north near Vanderhoof.

[Nutterbug]

You can't please everyone. I've spent time in Paris and absolutely hate the city with a passion. It's ugly, the people are rude as all heck, and I went there with a completely open mind.

Did you approach them speaking English?

[Overground]

Paris ugly? It has it's grim parts like any city, but it's certainly not ugly...at least not when I was there last.


About that event at GM Place. Martha Stewart was on Letterman last night talking about it. She didn't mention anything about the Highway but she and Letterman did mention how beautiful Vancouver is and that it's one of the most beautiful cities in NA(or he said the world...can't remember). He asked her if she went salmon fishing, which she said no, but she visited a market.

[MolsonExport]

Was poor wittle Andre disappointed that the highway wasn't up to Interstate standards, and he had to keep his speed under 100 and slow down for the occasional blind turn?

Yeah, he drove earlier back in 1994, which caused his hair to fall out.

[Dave2]

Andre should just wait until the construction is over before criticizing.

re: Paris, what was that 'ugly american' quote? "Paris is just one big pile of dog shit" A bit harsh perhaps, the word 'just' might be too harsk, it has so much more than just piles of dogshit ;)

[mr.x]

About that event at GM Place. Martha Stewart was on Letterman last night talking about it. She didn't mention anything about the Highway but she and Letterman did mention how beautiful Vancouver is and that it's one of the most beautiful cities in NA(or he said the world...can't remember). He asked her if she went salmon fishing, which she said no, but she visited a market.

All we now need is Oprah...her fans...errr...minions...would come here by plane loads.

[cornholio]

Did you approach them speaking English?

Yeah French people are known threw out out the world(especially Europe) as some of the rudest people. If you dont speak French then they treat you like shit even if you try, but on the other hand they expect everyone else to speak French when they go traveling(which thankfully their among the least traveled nationality in Europe and definitely the leased traveled out of western Europe)...might explain their lack of sympathy for everyone who wants to visit France but doesnt speak fluently French...infact French and Americans have much in common when it comes to ignorance of the world around them, and it hurts me to say that Canadians and Brits tend to fall in that category also(though none of them compare to French people and their shitty treatment of visitors and foreigners). I seen and experienced the behavior of many Frech people in Europe and France that any other nationality would be embarrassed and ashamed of

Back on topic. This highway when complete will be among the best in its class when you consider that it only connects one lousy resort, a few tiny insignificant towns and a secondary route to norther BC which is much slower and less direct then taking the #1 to a city and region of some 2.5 mill. We cannot have these super highways like in the alps that connect hundreds of millions of people on either side and dozens of giant resorts(and even those highways are only 4 lanes while many of the long tunnels only keep one side of the tunnel open to traffic with two lanes).

[northwest2k]

About ten years ago I took relatives from Europe on a trip through the Rockies to Banff and a relative asked why we weren't taking the main highway. When I told him this was the main highway I could tell by the look on his face that he was taken aback how this could be Canada's major east-west highway. Our highways are an embarrassment to our country, especially to visitors from other countries who think we are a modern, developed nation.

I whole heartedly agree!

The fact that we're not expanding Highway 1 to 8 lanes from Vancouver to east of the rockies is pitiful.

[Nutterbug]

I whole heartedly agree!

The fact that we're not expanding Highway 1 to 8 lanes from Vancouver to east of the rockies is pitiful.

The Trans-Canada should be one long drag strip all the way to Calgary.

Scratch that. Make that Toronto. Better yet, Cape Breton.

[agrant]

You guys can't be serious. Maybe you are joking, but 8 lanes?!?!?!?! Are we having any sort of traffic tie-ups on the Trans-Canada, other than in the Lower Mainland? Perhaps in and around some other cities, but I'm guessing the majority of the highway is smooth sailing.

[mr.x]

You guys can't be serious. Maybe you are joking, but 8 lanes?!?!?!?! Are we having any sort of traffic tie-ups on the Trans-Canada, other than in the Lower Mainland?

The first guy wasn't joking, the second guy is. I'm with the second guy.

[northwest2k]

Is anyone going to answer my questions???

When does work start on the lane widening/port mann twinning??

[mr.x]

Is anyone going to answer my questions???

When does work start on the lane widening/port mann twinning??

Not for another 1-2 years, the project hasn't gone to tendering yet...but that will happen sometime this year.

[deasine]

Is anyone going to answer my questions???

When does work start on the lane widening/port mann twinning??

I'm pretty sure you can ask that in its dedicated thread.

[clooless]

I whole heartedly agree!

The fact that we're not expanding Highway 1 to 8 lanes from Vancouver to east of the rockies is pitiful.

Hey, I want an expanded and modernized (grade separated would be nice) highway that is safe to drive on, not an abomination to nature.

[WarrenC12]

The Trans-Canada should be one long drag strip all the way to Calgary.

Scratch that. Make that Toronto. Better yet, Cape Breton.

Floating bridge to London! That's what I'm talking about. Make it smooth though so I can take my R1 and crank it up to 300 km/h and get there sooner.

[eduardo88]

Floating bridge to London! That's what I'm talking about. Make it smooth though so I can take my R1 and crank it up to 300 km/h and get there sooner.

Why don't we just invest billions upon billions into teleportation technology?

[jlousa]

You don't need a bridge for your R1 to get to london, just sell the bike and buy a high powered snowmobile, you can skim across the ocean at 300km/hr and avoid paying any tolls. Bring alot of fuel with you though.

[Nutterbug]

Why don't we just invest billions upon billions into teleportation technology?

Do you at least get to feel the speed and thrill of zipping through a spacetime vortex?

[ravman]

anyway getting back on topic.... its been a while since i have been on the 99 and it looks nice.... only if they can do the same for the TCH between Lake Louise and revelstoke... they dont even have the funding for phase 3 for the kicking horse project.... but meh...

[nikw]

I hadn't noticed it but there were 2 new webcams added to the sea to sky improvements website in March. They have fairly good quality too which is rare for webcams.

http://http://www.seatoskyimprovements.ca/constructioncams.htm

[urbanizer405]

Here's some pictures I took:

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn27/adam436/DSCF7438.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn27/adam436/DSCF7440.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn27/adam436/DSCF7448.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn27/adam436/DSCF7450.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn27/adam436/DSCF7451.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn27/adam436/DSCF7483.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn27/adam436/DSCF7487.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn27/adam436/DSCF7492.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn27/adam436/DSCF7572.jpg

[excel]

thanks for the update.

[Jared]

Is anyone going to answer my questions???

When does work start on the lane widening/port mann twinning??

prefered proponent will be announced before the end of the month, i believe.

[deasine]

haven't seen an update for a long time.... great... thanks so much!

[zivan56]

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn27/adam436/DSCF7492.jpg

Now if people would only always drive like this unless they need to pass, like in the rest of the civilized world, we wouldn't have to drive for so long to get to Whistler.
Thanks for the pics btw!

[jhausner]

Love the drive up there on that highway. It's amazing. I can't wait until everything is complete and there are no more construction delays. Even with the delays, it gives you a chance to sit and enjoy the view typically lol.

Looks good and I'm always amazed in some spots how much work they have had to do especially with the bridging over the cliff side through the first 10 or so km.

[Cypherus]

Thanks urbanizer for the pictures. It's such a beautiful drive up to Squamish.

[Stingray2004]

The SKS Highway Construction website has just updated their photos:

Eagleridge Interchange

http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/seatosky/Photo_Gallery/2008/2008_Summer/1_Eagleridge/1_IMG_0449.JPG

http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/seatosky/Photo_Gallery/2008/2008_Summer/1_Eagleridge/2_IMG_0418.JPG

http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/seatosky/Photo_Gallery/2008/2008_Summer/1_Eagleridge/3_IMG_P9039.JPG

http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/seatosky/Photo_Gallery/2008/2008_Summer/1_Eagleridge/4_IMG_P9029.JPG

http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/seatosky/Photo_Gallery/2008/2008_Summer/1_Eagleridge/5_IMG_P9030.JPG

http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/seatosky/Photo_Gallery/2008/2008_Summer/1_Eagleridge/6_IMG_P9153.JPG

http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/seatosky/Photo_Gallery/2008/2008_Summer/1_Eagleridge/7_IMG_P8986.JPG

http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/seatosky/Photo_Gallery/2008/2008_Summer/1_Eagleridge/8_IMG_P8963.JPG

North Junction

http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/seatosky/Photo_Gallery/2008/2008_Summer/2_NorthJunction/1_Northjunction.jpg

http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/seatosky/Photo_Gallery/2008/2008_Summer/2_NorthJunction/2_IMG_4451.jpg

http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/seatosky/Photo_Gallery/2008/2008_Summer/2_NorthJunction/5_IMG_4434.jpg

http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/seatosky/Photo_Gallery/2008/2008_Summer/2_NorthJunction/6_IMG_4356.jpg

http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/seatosky/Photo_Gallery/2008/2008_Summer/2_NorthJunction/7_IMG_4436.jpg

http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/seatosky/Photo_Gallery/2008/2008_Summer/2_NorthJunction/8_IMG_P9000.JPG

Lion's Bay

http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/seatosky/Photo_Gallery/2008/2008_Summer/3_LionsBay/14_Kelvin_Grove_rendering.jpg

http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/seatosky/Photo_Gallery/2008/2008_Summer/3_LionsBay/6_kg_001.jpg

http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/seatosky/Photo_Gallery/2008/2008_Summer/3_LionsBay/9_kg_004.jpg

http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/seatosky/Photo_Gallery/2008/2008_Summer/3_LionsBay/10_kg_005.jpg

http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/seatosky/Photo_Gallery/2008/2008_Summer/3_LionsBay/13_kg_008.jpg

http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/seatosky/Photo_Gallery/2008/2008_Summer/3_LionsBay/5_brunswick_rendering.jpg

http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/seatosky/Photo_Gallery/2008/2008_Summer/3_LionsBay/1_b_001.jpg

Doodson's Corner

http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/seatosky/Photo_Gallery/2008/2008_Summer/4_Doodsons/6_d_006.jpg

http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/seatosky/Photo_Gallery/2008/2008_Summer/4_Doodsons/5_d_005.jpg

http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/seatosky/Photo_Gallery/2008/2008_Summer/4_Doodsons/3_d_003.jpg

http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/seatosky/Photo_Gallery/2008/2008_Summer/4_Doodsons/4_d_004.jpg

Squamish

http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/seatosky/Photo_Gallery/2008/2008_Summer/5_Squamish/6_Chief%20_080714_6.jpg

http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/seatosky/Photo_Gallery/2008/2008_Summer/5_Squamish/7_Mamquam_Blind_080714_1.jpg

http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/seatosky/Photo_Gallery/2008/2008_Summer/5_Squamish/16_Mamquam_Blind_080714_10.jpg

http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/seatosky/Photo_Gallery/2008/2008_Summer/5_Squamish/21_cent_002.jpg

http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/seatosky/Photo_Gallery/2008/2008_Summer/5_Squamish/29_cent_010.jpg

http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/seatosky/Photo_Gallery/2008/2008_Summer/5_Squamish/22_cent_003.jpg

http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/seatosky/Photo_Gallery/2008/2008_Summer/5_Squamish/30_cent_011.jpg

http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/seatosky/photo_gallery.htm

[officedweller]

Nice! Thanks.

[amor de cosmos]

They named a corner after the Dudesons? Will there also be a Jackass Corner, or a Jim Rose Circus Sideshow Corner? :whatthefuck: :P

[deasine]

Great update stingray... thanks for also including the renderings!

[mr.x]

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/57/225531600_f766997b7c_o.jpg
Flickr.com

[muzhav84]

to be honest, i thought they were further along in construction than this..

[Dave2]

20 years later, they're finally going to open the 4 lane thru Lion's Bay!

[clooless]

to be honest, i thought they were further along in construction than this..

I thought the same thing. Well, at least there is time to get this done.

Thanks for the pics, Stingray.

[amor de cosmos]

Tunnel was considered for landslide highway stretch

Province had tunnel in expansion plan but idea crumbled six years ago due to $200-million cost , ministry says

CATHRYN ATKINSON
From Monday's Globe and Mail
August 18, 2008 at 5:31 AM EDT

SQUAMISH — The B.C. government originally considered building a tunnel at the site of last month's rockslide on the Sea-to-Sky Highway, but the idea was dropped in 2002 because of costs, a Ministry of Transportation spokesman said.

Dave Crebo confirmed that a one-kilometre-long tunnel at Porteau Bluffs had made the initial planning stages for the highway's expansion but, with an estimated $200-million price tag, it would have inflated the project's cost significantly.

The $600-million project was a cornerstone of Vancouver and Whistler's bid for the 2010 Winter Olympics, and Premier Gordon Campbell faced uncomfortable post-rockslide questions last week in Beijing about the highway's safety as the only direct route between the two hosts.

Mr. Crebo said no expansion-related work had been deemed to be necessary at the bluffs, a high rock face above the highway 39 kilometres north of Vancouver, before the July 29 slide.

An estimated 2,000 tonnes of granite and debris fell onto the highway and adjacent rail tracks.

There have been at least four rockslides at Porteau Bluffs since the highway opened along Howe Sound in 1958. Two, in 1969 and 1991, resulted in fatalities.

"A tunnel would have posed a significant challenge because the rock formation there is not conducive to tunnelling. Also the cost of the tunnel and associated works would be in the range of $200-million.

Those factors, combined together, prompted the decision to not go ahead there," he said.

Currently, there is no plan to revisit this option, Mr. Crebo added. He said Porteau Bluffs, like many other slide-prone locations around B.C., has an extensive ongoing stabilization program.

Mr. Crebo said the Vancouver Olympic Committee planned to announce contingency plans for alternative routes in case of a similar rockslide during the 2010 Games in January, 2009.

Evert Hoek, an expert in tunnel building who has lectured and worked on projects around the world, considered Porteau Bluffs such a classic rockslide site that he put an image of it on the cover of one of his three books on tunnel construction.

The 75-year-old North Vancouver resident, who is currently on the advisory board for the Seymour-Capilano tunnel project, first visited the bluffs in 1963. He described the face of the cliff as being like a ski jump aimed directly at the road.

"That slope has always been waiting to fail. You'd have to cut back a huge chunk of the mountain in order to remove the rock that wants to come down," he said. "What they've done historically there is to trim it back and use rock bolts and cables and whatever means of reinforcement, but you can only do so much of those because the mountain is fundamentally unstable."

Dr. Hoek said it represented "a very perfect case" for tunnelling.

"A tunnel is a very good solution, but expensive. As a minimum you'd be thinking of twin tunnels. The last thing you'd want is a single tunnel with two lanes in it. That is extremely dangerous," he said, citing deadly fires and accidents in the Alps in similar tunnels.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080818.wbctunnel18/BNStory/National

[urbanizer405]

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080818.wbctunnel18/BNStory/National

Wonder how much the ensuing lawsuits will cost? (assuming more devastating rockslides)

[mr.x]

^ you mean like the Hope Slide in the 60s where an entire mountainside collapsed and buried several cars and people?

The slide buried the victims and their vehicles under a torrent of 46 million cubic meters of pulverized rock, mud, and debris 85 m thick and 3 km wide, which came down the 2000-metre mountainside . This mass of debris completely displaced the lake below with incredible force, throwing it against the opposite side of the valley, wiping all vegetation and trees down to the bare rock, then 'splashed back' up the original (now bare) slope before settling.

On driving across the new highway across the debris field a traveler can only then truly appreciate the hopelessness of anyone caught in the slide's path, the massive size of the slide being reflected in the many large rocks the size of delivery trucks.

Rescue crews only found two of the four bodies—the others have remained entombed in the rock, with their cars, since 1965.

That probably happens like once every 1000 years??? No?

http://www.scpz.com/bronco/images/smalltruck600x480.jpg
http://ascentionmineral.com/images/hope-slide-001.jpg
http://www.sfu.ca/~qgrc/hopeslide.jpg

[twoNeurons]

If there are 100 locations with 1 event every 1000 years, the odds are actually once every 10 years. I'm not saying I know the odds, but I'm just saying that there is more than one location where a slide could happen and we ARE in a seismically dangerous zone.

[jhausner]

It's the price we pay for living in paradise. Sometimes mountains fall and crush things. Can't stop living because of it. :-)

[nname]

I recently went through the sea to sky highway, and there's a new interchange called "Porteau Road" that's basically in the middle of nowhere. I wonder if there's a new development there?

[amor de cosmos]

I recently went through the sea to sky highway, and there's a new interchange called "Porteau Road" that's basically in the middle of nowhere. I wonder if there's a new development there?

Concord Specific is doing a project called Porteau Cove with the Squamish natives somewhere along the Sea-to-Sky. Maybe that's it.
http://www.porteaucove.com/

[Smooth]

Does anyone know if that Porteau Cove development will contain homes that you can actually purchase or will it be like Ravenwoods in North Vancouver where you can only buy a 99 year lease because it's on native land?

[sacrifice333]

Does anyone know if that Porteau Cove development will contain homes that you can actually purchase or will it be like Ravenwoods in North Vancouver where you can only buy a 99 year lease because it's on native land?

If it is indeed First Nations owned reserve land then there won't be any whole ownership. Whole ownership doesn't work within the Indian Act.

Here's a great article on that topic (http://www.nationalpost.com/news/canada/rethinkingthereserve/story.html?id=264278).

p.s. YES, that interchange (just before the real Porteau Cove) is for the development "Porteau". Massive plans for it. Which leads me to think that it wouldn't be leased land, but you never know.

[phesto]

As far as I know, the homes at Porteau Cove will be sold as freehold and not on leased land. The land is owned by the Squamish First nations but it is not reserve land, they acquired it in a land swap with BC Rail a few years ago and are now selling it off as a joint venture with Concord.

[jlousa]

That's my understanding as well, all homes will be freehold, the natives will keep the land that the commercial properties will be built on. Which is fine as most businesses have no issue with leasing.

[officedweller]

Renderings here - click on Portfolio - go to Residential and scroll down the list to Porteau Cove. Duplexes, townhouses and single family homes.

http://www.wfrancl.com/main.htm

[sacrifice333]

Renderings here - click on Portfolio - go to Residential and scroll down the list to Porteau Cove. Duplexes, townhouses and single family homes.

http://www.wfrancl.com/main.htm

Those look amazing.

[amor de cosmos]

yeah those look really good

[Metro-One]

Was on the Nanaimo ferry today, so i took some quick picks of the sea to sky highway construction. Not the best picks but it was sunny! hehe.
The first one you can see one of the new overpasses.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/30634635@N03/2877429053/sizes/l/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/30634635@N03/2877434407/sizes/l/