M'ville Gets The Traffic Jim-Jams!
You don't need to be told that road construction in our area has reached epic (epidemic?) proportions! It seems as though at every turn, the cone ferries have done their best to conjure fresh torture for weary drivers! One question that keeps coming up is "Why do we need to do everything at once? Is there no planning?" Well, there is an answer to that along with the usual good news and bad news!
To start, let's list the various projects:
1) King Edward overpass
2) King Edward widening
3) Schoolhouse
4) Lougheed upgrade North Road to Blue Mtn.
5) Lougheed upgrade Blue Mtn to Schoolhouse
6) Cape Horn Interchange
Whoa!!! Why all at once? We can break this down into two categories.
1) King Edward Overpass and Gateway: As we all know, the Overpass is a part of the Gateway project that will see the Freeway brought down to ground level (with the existing rail tracks) and King Ed will then fly over all and land on United Blvd. Good news: when completed there will be no more having to wait for trains on King Edward, traffic from United Blvd should flow more freely onto Lougheed with dedicated left turn lanes and as a bonus a generous pedestrian/cycle path on the overpass that will connect from Brunette, through Mackin Park and to the Fraser River waterfront park that is a part of the Fraser Mills development plan. The bad news: it's going to get worse before it gets better. The overpass is to be completed sometime in 2011. Also, at some point the entire construction area will be closed for 6 weeks(?) in order to complete the construction of the overpass and the freeway.
The Cape Horn Interchange is also a Gateway project and has to be completed along with the new bridge etc. The good news: When completed, it is hoped that traffic will flow more smoothly as many of the existing traffic lights in the area will be eliminated/bypassed and that the many existing awkward lane changes we all love to hate will be no more. Bad news: look forward to a couple more years of construction.
2) All of the other above mentioned projects fall into the "non gateway" category and are what have people upset, wondering why everything has to be done all at once! The simple answer is "money, Archie, money". The City has access to considerable funding for capital projects from both the Federal and Provincial governments, but the eligible projects must be completed on a deadline...thus Schoolhouse, King Edward widening and Lougheed repaving all must be worked on, well, now! Good news: when completed, traffic movement in and out of Maillardville and to and from the shopping area of Superstore etc should be much smoother. Also the flooding issues that have always plagued the area along Lougheed from Schoolhouse to King Ed should also be improved. The bad news: It's gonna get worse before it gets better! On Schoolhouse, the work includes raising the street level and replacing utilities...this is not a simple repaving job. King Edward will continue to be a bottleneck until that project is completed in early 2011. And just to add a fresh layer of hell to it all, starting in a week or so, you can expect to suffer the same construction/repaving that is now happening on Lougheed (N. Road to Blue Mtn) to commence from Brunette to Schoolhouse...oh joy!!!
The good news: It is to be hoped that when all of the above is completed, our area will have a highly functional network of roads that will help to move us all more efficiently and quickly. If projects like the Golden Ears and Pitt River bridges, the Coast Meridian overpass and the David connector are examples of how modern road design can improve our driving experience, then we can look forward to happy results for our area.
The bad news: driving in our area over the next year or so will not be fun.
Unsolicited advice, be patient and courteous to your fellow road warriors and remain optimistic that it will all be worth it in the end!
If you would like any info on the projects, go to the city website at
