BC Highway Construction

[Dengler Avenue]

Originally Posted by 240glt

Doesn’t the shoulder turn into a de facto third lane during peak congestion anyways ? It’s been a while since I drove from the valley into Vancouver but I seem to remember drivers peeling down the shoulder when the TCH is all backed up

They already do? Oh no...

[SpongeG]

a video of the new Malahat

• Video Link

[SpongeG]

McKenzie Interchange, looking better

• Video Link

[Glacier]

Originally Posted by Dengler Avenue

"Any time a decision becomes politicized then it is being made for the wrong reasons."

That has already happened though. For instance, the project to widen TCH between Pritchard and Chase has been delayed to this year (when it was supposed to begin last year). From what I saw on the most recent google street view, the widening is badly needed.

The NDP is NFG. There are no new projects coming any time soon, and the ones on the books are being delayed. Same thing happened in the 1990s.

[240glt]

New cable ferry deployed on Kootenay Lake between Longbeach and Harrop

https://www.nelsonstar.com/local-new...kootenay-lake/

[craner]

Re-announcement of a long delayed project ?
http://https://globalnews.ca/news/5108787/trans-canada-highway-funding-improvements-bc/

Kind of funny how they describe it as a "Massive" funding announcement.

[Corndogger]

Originally Posted by craner

Re-announcement of a long delayed project ?
http://https://globalnews.ca/news/5108787/trans-canada-highway-funding-improvements-bc/

Kind of funny how they describe it as a "Massive" funding announcement.

It's stuff like this that makes me cringe when people say AB should reduce it's spending on infrastructure to BC levels. $71.5 million is pretty minor for highway projects.

[craner]

^Who is saying Alberta shout cut it's spending on infrastructure ?

[Metro-One]

Originally Posted by craner

Re-announcement of a long delayed project ?
http://https://globalnews.ca/news/5108787/trans-canada-highway-funding-improvements-bc/

Kind of funny how they describe it as a "Massive" funding announcement.

From the best of my knowledge this is a newer project, but agree with the small scales.

Any highway 1 project should at least be 10km in length and preferably 50km or so in length. At least that would be a far more realistic timeframe for actually completing it in our lifetimes. This goes for the federal government as well through the national parks.

No more 2km and 4km long projects.

And what happened to the interchange in Golden as part of phase 5 on the Kicking Horse project?

I don’t understand why we can’t build a highway like we did with the Coquihalla and the Okanagan Connector (Hell, even the Island Highway was over 100km of new 4 lane divided highway I believe).

[Corndogger]

Originally Posted by craner

^Who is saying Alberta shout cut it's spending on infrastructure ?

People who claim AB could cut it's deficit by lowering our per capita spending to BC levels. I don't think we're overspending, BC is grossly under spending.

[che4ef]

Corndogger

I don't think we're overspending, BC is grossly under spending.

I will go even further - BC is not spending at all. I live near Vancouver and commute to my work in downtown. There are projects along the way that are "under way" in the last 10-15 years. I live in one of the cites north side of Fraser river and just now in the last ... perhaps 10 yers there is major road project. Not started by NDP, but liberals. NDP is just completing. It is very disappointing that this government is not spending anything on the infrastructure. It is disturbing. Few projects that are supposed to be done are either cut or not started. Maple Ridge Haney Bypass, Maple Ridge to Mission widening to 4 lines. It is just one portion done. I hope they will start the other one right after. Highway 1 widening from Langley originally is from 200 to 232 and now is to 216 with new overpass. Cut by NDP. There were plans underway for widening to Abbotsford but everything stalled again under NDP. All this infrastructure projects are fallout from the previous government. Don`t get me even started about Massey Tunnel here. It is not going to happen in the next 2 years, may be longer. The jams are enormous. Rant can go on and on.
We need federal highway program.

[che4ef]

https://www.abbynews.com/news/federa...fraser-valley/

“At the end of the day, this is something for the province of B.C. to decide, obviously in consultation with the local community.”

For years the widening of the highway to Abbotsford has been discussed, but the plan has stalled under the NDP government.

Abbotsford News. Recent article.
I am working already on my flying superpowers, because it will be the only way to move around very soon.

[craner]

Originally Posted by Metro-One

From the best of my knowledge this is a newer project, but agree with the small scales.

Any highway 1 project should at least be 10km in length and preferably 50km or so in length. At least that would be a far more realistic timeframe for actually completing it in our lifetimes. This goes for the federal government as well through the national parks.

No more 2km and 4km long projects.

And what happened to the interchange in Golden as part of phase 5 on the Kicking Horse project?

I don’t understand why we can’t build a highway like we did with the Coquihalla and the Okanagan Connector (Hell, even the Island Highway was over 100km of new 4 lane divided highway I believe).

Agree whole heartedly.

[craner]

Originally Posted by che4ef

Corndogger I will go even further - BC is not spending at all. I live near Vancouver and commute to my work in downtown. There are projects along the way that are "under way" in the last 10-15 years. I live in one of the cites north side of Fraser river and just now in the last ... perhaps 10 yers there is major road project. Not started by NDP, but liberals. NDP is just completing. It is very disappointing that this government is not spending anything on the infrastructure. It is disturbing. Few projects that are supposed to be done are either cut or not started. Maple Ridge Haney Bypass, Maple Ridge to Mission widening to 4 lines. It is just one portion done. I hope they will start the other one right after. Highway 1 widening from Langley originally is from 200 to 232 and now is to 216 with new overpass. Cut by NDP. There were plans underway for widening to Abbotsford but everything stalled again under NDP. All this infrastructure projects are fallout from the previous government. Don`t get me even started about Massey Tunnel here. It is not going to happen in the next 2 years, may be longer. The jams are enormous. Rant can go on and on.
We need federal highway program.

It's really so frustrating that national highway infrastructure is such a low priority on a federal level.

[DoubleK]

I don't know if I would trust the Feds to get highways right.

[Corndogger]

Originally Posted by DoubleK

I don't know if I would trust the Feds to get highways right.

The feds don't need to design the roads just help fund them like they do in the U.S. along with setting some standards. At a minimum highways that makeup the national system should be four lanes, divided and with limited access. And no frickin' lights! This is easily doable if we make it a priority.

[Mazrim]

Originally Posted by Corndogger

At a minimum highways that makeup the national system should be four lanes, divided and with limited access. And no frickin' lights! This is easily doable if we make it a priority.

I don't really agree with you. The feds should be offering funding to smartly designed alternatives that reduce costs and footprints. What works on the prairies or in the maritimes won't work in the shield and mountains. In mountainous terrain, you should want the narrowest cross section of road that moves traffic safely at high speeds given the challenges of the area you're working in. If you need a few signals to save tens of millions of dollars, you do it. Doing it this way would be way more easy to do given that money is a huge consideration, despite what you've said.

We shouldn't be building roads like we did in the past. It's not sustainable. If you want to see what happens when you try to set one standard for entire road type, you should see the complexities and costs to build I-70 through Colorado and Utah.

[milomilo]

In a world with infinite money, I'd agree with corndogger, but in a world where money is limited I agree with Mazrim. The problem really though is there just isn't enough money and it is unfair to assign the costs of the TCH to where it is geographically located. It's a national highway, so it should be adequately funded by the federal government, and since BC and Ontario's sections are much more expensive to build they should get proportionally more from the national pot, and Manitoba and Saskatchewan proportionally less.

[Corndogger]

Originally Posted by milomilo

In a world with infinite money, I'd agree with corndogger, but in a world where money is limited I agree with Mazrim. The problem really though is there just isn't enough money and it is unfair to assign the costs of the TCH to where it is geographically located. It's a national highway, so it should be adequately funded by the federal government, and since BC and Ontario's sections are much more expensive to build they should get proportionally more from the national pot, and Manitoba and Saskatchewan proportionally less.

I didn't say anything about the funding have to be equal but the minimal design standards have to be the same everywhere. Canada's not the only nation that has rugged terrain and we do have the money to build roads to the standards I've set.

[Mazrim]

Originally Posted by Corndogger

and we do have the money to build roads to the standards I've set.

Since when...? The federal government has been throwing lots of money at public transit (and rightly so), so I'm not sure where all this money for your freeway standard is coming from.