Backgrounder:
For Immediate Release
2008TRAN0028-000862
June 5, 2008
Ministry of Transportation
B.C. CHOOSES SNC-LAVALIN TO DESIGN HWY 99 BUS LANE
RICHMOND – A contract has been awarded to design a bus-only lane that will enable northbound buses on Highway 99 in Richmond to bypass traffic congestion, Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon announced today.
SNC-Lavalin has been awarded a $649,000 design and engineering contract for the northbound bus lane, which will extend from Westminster Highway to Bridgeport Road. Design of the lane is scheduled to be completed in the fall of 2008.
“People using public transit should be able to avoid traffic jams whenever possible and should be rewarded for making an environmentally conscious decision,” Falcon said. “This bus lane will shorten commute times, making the bus a more attractive option.”
“I’m delighted to see we are building on our provincial transportation network, particularly in Richmond,” said Linda Reid, MLA for Richmond East. “This will foster economic growth in our region and promote green travel options.”
“This contract proves our government is forging ahead with its visionary $14-billion Transit Plan,” said Olga Ilich, MLA for Richmond Centre. “By adding a bus-only lane to this high-density route, we are increasing the efficiency of our bus service, and making public transit more attractive to commuters across metro Vancouver.”
“This project will help improve the speed of commuter bus services, which will encourage increased usage of public transit, which in turn will get more people out of their cars and benefit our environment,” said John Yap, MLA for Richmond-Steveston.
The new bus-only lane SNC-Lavalin is designing will be available first for current northbound bus service, and will eventually be used as part of the route for RapidBus BC. This new express transit line will offer frequent, reliable service and priority movement in traffic for much of the length of the route.
The Province is working with TransLink to improve service along Highway 99 in both directions between White Rock and the Canada Line’s Bridgeport Station in Richmond. Commuters will enjoy faster bus trips and an efficient connection with the new Canada Line, to be open in fall of 2009.
The improvements to Highway 99 and RapidBus BC are part of the Provincial Transit Plan, which aims to double transit ridership provincewide by 2020 by increasing choices for travellers. The $14-billion plan also focuses on reducing greenhouse gas emissions from cars by 4.7 millions tonnes cumulatively by 2020.
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The design is now done, and ready to be bidded on.
Here is the link for the official bidding process:
http://www.bcbid.gov.bc.ca/open.dll/...search_by=Tend
No drawings (unless you register for interest, this may cost money, and you wouldnt be allowed to share them I imagine), but you take a look at a quantities chart, to get a sense of the scope of the project.
The area is question is here:
http://maps.google.ca/maps?hl=en&ie=...,0.054932&z=14
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