Highway 7 Widening - 266th St. to 287th St. | U/C
 

Lougheed Highway 7 Widening - 266th St. to 287th St. Project between Maple Ridge & Mission:

Status: Construction underway. "Schedule: Project completion expected in fall 2024."

BC Gov Project Home Page:
Link

When completed, Highway 7 will be widened to four lanes between 266th and 287th streets to address traffic congestion. Centre median barriers will improve safety, with barriers also added to the existing four-lane highway from west of Spilsbury Road to 266th Street.

“This project will widen the last two-lane stretch of Highway 7 between the Haney Bypass in Maple Ridge and Mission to four lanes,” said Bob D’Eith, MLA for Maple Ridge-Mission.

Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows News : Construction begins Monday to widen Lougheed Highway between Mission and Maple Ridge
DILLON WHITE Feb. 2, 2023 2:16 p.m Link

The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure will commence work on Monday (Feb. 6) to widen a four-kilometer stretch of Lougheed Highway (Highway 7) between 266th Street and 287th Street in Maple Ridge. The project will expand the highway from two lanes to four lanes.

https://i.imgur.com/wlcLb1W.png
Source: Design Update 2022 PDF on project web page (url above)

https://i.imgur.com/TMqfY7m.png
Source: https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2022TRAN0118-001718

Is anyone out this way to get update pictures?

Expanding Hwy 7 to expressway status (at least by using the Golden Ears Way as a bypass) needs to be done ASAP.



The largest repository of industrial lands available are in Maple Ridge (by far). Not having a freeway up there is a really huge problem.

Moved this to the Transportation sub-forum.

thanks.

What route would you follow? Where would you leave/resume the existing 7?

1 of 2 ways:
1. Upgrade Golden Ears Way to an expressway, then extend it to Albion or Kanaka Creek via Cottonwood Dr. (which is designed quite wide for the low amount of traffic using it), then connect to Hwy 7. (This is the assumed route by Maple Ridge and MoT.)
The issue with Cottonwood Dr. is that it'd still require a demolition of a bunch of SFHs to make the corridor wide enough to allow both street home access and sufficient room for a 4-lane highway, or cutting into environmentally sensitive areas around Kanaka Creek.
2. Extend Haney Bypass by cutting into the cliff between the CP railway and the homes abutting the Fraser (similar to what was done with the SFPR in North Delta), divert Hwy 7 traffic at Maple Meadows towards Haney Bypass.
This would have greater environmental impacts, but would be a faster bypass route.
It may also destroy the Port Haney WCE station, depending on how many SFHs you're willing to sacrifice in exchange, or if you move the WCE station.

BC Gov Project Web Page

Project web page hasn't had an update since Nov 2022 but I assume the project is ongoing. Web page states "Project completion expected in fall 2024." so rolling along to that date.

Anyone out that way for pictures?

Highway 7 Eastbound Jan 14-2024
 

Welcome and thanks for the update, looks like this is just getting started.

Yes, thanks for the update! And welcome!

For those interested, the video begins at this Google Street View location:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/rBua1155gCtdnSDe7

At 0:08 in the video you can see versus May 2023 Street View they have put in a new right turn lane, traffic island and half a set of traffic lights!

But to MadDog222's point, it looks like just getting started and Fall-2024 completion will take some focused doing (imho).

Highway 7 Westbound Jan 14-2024
 

Highway 7 Videos
 

For future, I'll try and post a video (better quality than the most recent ones) around the beginning of each month so that we can see the progress of this project thru completion. Expect a new video around Feb 3rd or 4th - 2024.

Thanks very much for doing this!

That's awesome, thanks!

https://i.imgur.com/a6OqrMa.png
Src: https://maps.app.goo.gl/4Ehywk8SuKMxYMeU6

https://i.imgur.com/6MqLuFb.png?1
Src: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CPX7ER7iiI

Then we can do nerdy stuff like this, May 2023 vs Jan 2024 differences at 26512 Lougheed Hwy:

1. New traffic light
2. New traffic island
3. Reconfigured power poles and wires
4. New right turn lane

Highway 7 Eastbound & Westbound Feb 03-2024
 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1lO0aBOlNE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vm0jQdQiT9I

Highway 7 Eastbound & Westbound Mar 02-2024
 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQfmzxKlNqE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXyzBe0ZHbI

Highway 7 Eastbound & Westbound Apr 07-2024
 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yExBtcCvhg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LQ3ng1swGI

Nice, thanks for the update, MFRH Pics!

Well I hope they make their prediction of "Project completion expected in fall 2024" and fall doesn't technically end until December 21st of this year...

Looks like a lot of work to do this summer.