Metro Vancouver Road Infrastructure Discussion

[cleowin]

The 232nd Street Rail Overpass appears complete and functional, drove by it the other day on my way home.

[madog222]

Originally Posted by hollywoodnorth

Cracks force closure of bridge between New Westminster, Coquitlam

http://www.vancouversun.com/Cracks+f...#ixzz2uwvdrrbR

Update on this, the bridge is beyond repair and a temporary replacement one lane bridge could take four weeks to be installed.

Temporary Bailey bridge being brought in

The new cracks in the structure were found during a maintenance inspection Sunday. A year ago, two splits in the bridge's trusses were found and it took nearly two weeks to repair. Heavy truck traffic was also banned with the bridge's maximum load weight being reduced from 48 to 15 tonnes.

Wright said the engineers believed at that time the bridge had another 18 to 24 months of life left, but heavy trucks ignoring the ban have shortened that time frame.

...

The development intensifies the heated debate between New Westminster and Coquitlam about replacing the bridge. Coquitlam wants a permanent two-lane structure, but New West insists that would put too much of a burden on the already heavily-congested intersection at Braid and Brunette Avenue.

I seem to remember someone mentioning the Brunette interchange being redone as a separate project in the Port Mann/Hwy1 thread. Hopefully this will mean a rail overpass for Braid st. and a freer flowing intersection, should be enough for the city to build a proper bridge.

[jlenko]

Now that the SFPR has been 'fully' open for a few months.. and signage is finally in place.. has there been any noticeable decline of ferry & heavy container traffic along Hwy 10? (I'm running on the assumption that traffic would be an obvious shift from Hwy 10 to 17..)

I was driving West on Hwy 1 last night, from Abby to Langley, and saw all the huge signs that used to read "232nd St exit, Ferries, etc" are now largely blanked off and no longer read anything but 232nd Street. Kinda made me curious.

[aberdeen5698]

Originally Posted by madog222

I noticed them along North Grandview Hwy. between Commercial and Clark the other night from the Skytrain. I thought the light looked a lot better than the sodium-vapor but that could just be an attraction to something new.

I rode the entire stretch of North Grandview from Clark to Commercial last night and didn't see any LED lighting. All of the street lights I saw use sodium arc vapor bulbs. Am I missing something?

I also rode past the Clarendon Connector but the LED lamps they've installed there aren't illuminated yet. So I'm still waiting to see what these things actually look like.

[madog222]

Originally Posted by aberdeen5698

I rode the entire stretch of North Grandview from Clark to Commercial last night and didn't see any LED lighting. All of the street lights I saw use sodium arc vapor bulbs. Am I missing something?

I probably got the location wrong than, will have to check that out soon.

[go_leafs_go02]

Originally Posted by jlenko

Now that the SFPR has been 'fully' open for a few months.. and signage is finally in place.. has there been any noticeable decline of ferry & heavy container traffic along Hwy 10? (I'm running on the assumption that traffic would be an obvious shift from Hwy 10 to 17..)

I was driving West on Hwy 1 last night, from Abby to Langley, and saw all the huge signs that used to read "232nd St exit, Ferries, etc" are now largely blanked off and no longer read anything but 232nd Street. Kinda made me curious.

Definitely. Ferry traffic is harder to spot day by day on there, but truck volumes along the entire highway have dropped significantly.

Highway 17 is the truck route now, and there are a LOT of trucks on there, probably 40-60% of vehicles on there are trucks during the day.

[go_leafs_go02]

https://twitter.com/toddstonebc/stat...03724788326400

Todd Stone - Minister of Transportation

Inspecting the now closed #new westminister / #coquitlam bailey bridge with @jordansturdy #bcpoli pic.twitter.com/zHvb2P6j5v

[jbrizzy]

Lots of work has been going on at SE Marine Dr and Kinross over the last two weeks installing new lights and creating a WB left turn lane onto Kinross, as well as shifting lanes and creating a new median involved with that. Just the start of the road work we'll see there over the next several years with the River District development.

[officedweller]

Driving across the bridge, you can easily see the bolts - some of them stick up about 2 inches (threaded bolt with nut below), so I don't buy the City's "migration" stance. I also drive over at about 8:00pm after practices, so that's only a few hours after the end of the work day. You have to swerve in the narrow lanes to avoid driving over them. They are lined up with your tires at the edges of the lanes, so you can see how a bus - with a wider track - will hit them more than cars. But there are likely lots of cars out there that have damaged tires too.

Burrard Bridge construction blows out bus tires

By Michael Mui, 24 Hours Vancouver

Thursday, March 27, 2014 6:43:38 PDT PM

Riders face longer trips as all buses crossing the Burrard Street Bridge have been rerouted indefinitely after 20 coaches had their tires burst on the span due to construction “anchor” bolts sticking out of the deck.

According to TransLink and the City of Vancouver, there were no injuries caused by the blowouts. But for safety reasons, the No. 44, 22 and 2 buses have been detoured to Granville Street Bridge, TransLink’s Jiana Ling said Thursday.

Signage is posted with reroute information at affected stops, she said.

One upset passenger said she had to miss a medical appointment booked weeks in advance because of the detour.

Eleanor Brockenshire is glad TransLink has changed the route, but said the situation needs to be fixed soon.

“TransLink — I agree with their point. It’s unsafe for bus drivers and riders … if you have a big bus with people, you can see how the tires would blow because the bolts would pierce the rubber,” she said.

According to the city, one passenger vehicle was also damaged due to the construction. In a statement, city hall said its employees have reported up to 27 bus tires being damaged.

It said there were steel plates installed — and anchored — over bridge joints city contractors are replacing as part of structural repairs.

“(On Wednesday), it was found that traffic travelling over the plates had caused some of the anchors to rise up,” the city said.

“In response to this, we have switched to a different anchor type that can handle an even greater capacity of traffic.”

The city said there have been no further issues since the switch, but couldn’t say how much stronger the new bolts were. The damage to buses is expected to be covered by the contractor Graham Group’s insurance, the city said.

Graham said it has been told by the city not to comment on the matter.

http://vancouver.24hrs.ca/2014/03/27...-out-bus-tires

BTW - will the Burrard Bridge repairs be completed in time for the Vancouver Sun Run?
Or will they require a full bridge closure to run the race?

[Klazu]

Originally Posted by officedweller

Driving across the bridge, you can easily see the bolts - some of them stick up about 2 inches (threaded bolt with nut below), so I don't buy the City's "migration" stance. I also drive over at about 8:00pm after practices, so that's only a few hours after the end of the work day. You have to swerve in the narrow lanes to avoid driving over them. They are lined up with your tires at the edges of the lanes, so you can see how a bus - with a wider track - will hit them more than cars. But there are likely lots of cars out there that have damaged tires too.

Yeah, they are very noticable and I would advise to avoid the right lane heading northbound over Burrard Bridge. They really look like something that could easily destroy your tire.

I am also somewhat worried about the rainwater drains on Granville Bridge. At least from inside the car it looks like the rainwater drains have spikes facing upwards. I always feel very sorry for my tires when driving over them. I don't remember them being like that always or am I perhaps mistaken? Anyone else notice the same thing?

[officedweller]

Do you mean the expansion joints? The older ones on Granville Bridge look like intermeshed teeth (the newer ones have rubber gaskets).
I think over time some of them have angled upwards so they look like the "severe tire damage" spikes you see at some American parking lots.

[connect2source]

Originally Posted by officedweller

Do you mean the expansion joints? The older ones on Granville Bridge look like intermeshed teeth (the newer ones have rubber gaskets).
I think over time some of them have angled upwards so they look like the "severe tire damage" spikes you see at some American parking lots.

There's an especially bad one halfway between the 'hump' and the 4th / Fir exit on the south slope, it's quite severe and seems to have been installed in a very sloppy fashion. I drive over it every day and can only imagine it getting more severe over time.

[officedweller]

I think I've noticed that one too.

[whatnext]

I notice the city has a lot of traffic counters on West 16th and some southbound on Nelson out of downtown. Are they planning on inflicting bike lanes on those routes?

[Bcasey25raptor]

Does anyone else feel really uneasy travelling on the petullo bridge?
I know theres plans to replace it but it looks and feels really unstable and whenever I cross it I fear it'll collapse and fall into the fraser river.

I hope they replace it soon.

[officedweller]

Iron Worker's Bridge to close overnight tonight (1:00 am to 5:00 am) for overhead sign removal:

http://www.news1130.com/2014/04/01/i...-improvements/

Also, not sure if this render of the suicide barriers has been posted before:


http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/highwayproje...Fact_Sheet.pdf

http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/highwayproje...kers/index.htm

[jlenko]

Wonder why this stuff wasn't rolled into the last project, when they re-surfaced the entire bridge and put up those awful looking dividers on the sidewalks... which ultimately narrowed them to the nothingness they currently are.

[officedweller]

That must have been 10 years ago (?)
I guess priorities have changed since then.

and this happened in 2008:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/britis...lance-1.703957

Of interest - saw this North Shore News article from Dec 2013 for Lions Gate Bridge:

http://www.nsnews.com/news/the-bridg...urden-1.750789

The issue of a barrier for the Lions Gate Bridge has been discussed by the B.C. Coroners Service and the Ministry of Transportation for about five years.

After both the Lions Gate Bridge and the Second Narrows were shut down for several hours on Canada Day 2008, it was the issue of traffic disruption that propelled then-transportation minister Kevin Falcon to ask staff to look into the issue.

A preliminary report by Stantec Consulting in 2009 concluded a net system under the bridge was one option, although that wouldn't help with traffic shutdowns. Higher physical barriers, however, had been internationally recognized as "the most effective strategy for preventing bridgerelated suicides." Stantec put an estimated cost to add a barrier to the Lions Gate at $30 million to $35 million.

The ministry looked at the issue again in November 2011, when it issued a request for proposals for an engineering study to examine adding suicide deterrents to the Lions Gate Bridge. Buckland & Taylor - a North Vancouver-based bridge engineering firm that oversaw the Lions Gate deck replacement project a decade ago - were chosen to investigate.

But following a preliminary review of the proposals and associated costs, the ministry chose to reassess its options, and not go ahead with a detailed study.

According to a letter obtained under Freedom of Information, the bridge engineers said it might be impossible to attach a net system under the Lions Gate, while adding barriers would be prohibitively expensive.

Built in 1937 as a twolane private bridge, the Lions Gate was designed for much lighter load limits than bridges are today.

"Over the years we've tried to put more and more on this bridge," said Patrick Livolsi, regional director of the south coast region for the Ministry of Transportation. "It wasn't meant to take this kind of loading."

When the deck replacement was carried out more than a decade ago - significantly widening the bridge deck and sidewalks from the original design, keeping weight low was a challenge.

At the time "there was no discussion about putting the safety barriers on... ." said Livolsi.

It's possible barriers could have been included by making the sidewalks slightly narrower, he said. "But now that it's actually built, to refit that railing complicates everything."

The main problem with higher railings is they create more wind loading, said Livolsi, which pushes extra force on the bridge deck. "All that weight is pulling down on the cables and those cables are pulling down on the towers themselves."

In the letter summarizing issues for the ministry, Buckland & Taylor's engineers concluded the towers, cables and other key bridge structures would likely not be able to withstand the extra windloading of a higher barrier, without strengthening.

They concluded: "We believe the total cost of the project could easily exceed $100 million."

...

Suicide barriers were also added in 2009 to Halifax's Angus L. MacDonald suspension bridge, built in the 1950s, despite its own modernization project in the 1990s that added considerable weight to that bridge.

For years, the bridge authority there said engineering had ruled out a higher barrier.

Then in 2008 - after some high profile examination of bridge suicides - an in-depth study concluded the bridge could withstand the extra weight and loading. The barriers were added on top of the existing handrail at a cost of $1 million - paid for by bridge tolls.

"I will say they have saved lives," said Alison MacDonald, spokeswoman for Halifax Harbour Bridges. "They work."

But while the Angus L. MacDonald Bridge appears very similar to the Lions Gate - designed by the same company and of a similar size - from an engineering standpoint, it may not be, said Livolsi. A bridge built in the 1950s would likely be built to much different standards than one in the 1930s.

- See more at: http://www.nsnews.com/news/the-bridg....CTfU92bN.dpuf

[jbrizzy]

Clarendon connector was originally supposed to open on March 31st, but I just noticed that they've change the completion date to May.

[MIPS]

Originally Posted by officedweller

Iron Worker's Bridge to close overnight tonight (1:00 am to 5:00 am) for overhead sign removal:

http://www.news1130.com/2014/04/01/i...-improvements/

Also, not sure if this render of the suicide barriers has been posted before:


http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/highwayproje...Fact_Sheet.pdf

http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/highwayproje...kers/index.htm

Those barriers look extremely ugly from that angle.