Some big changes are coming to the Alex Fraser Bridge. Beginning July 23rd, two lanes will be closed on the busy Metro Vancouver bridge.
The lane closures will allow crews to remove painted lines and install temporary markers for the northbound lanes on the bridge.
Furthermore, these lanes will be temporarily closed and only overnight when crews do work on the bridge. The lane closures will begin at 9:30 p.m., and end each morning at 5:00 a.m.
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Alex Fraser Bridge Improvements
Back in December 2017, it was announced that a seventh lane was being added to the Alex Fraser Bridge. The additional lane and new movable barrier will allow for four lanes northbound and three lanes southbound during the morning rush hour. Four lanes southbound and three lanes northbound will be open at all other times.
To make room for this additional lane, the existing lanes will be reduced in width from approximately 3.7 metres to 3.55 metres (about a six-inch reduction).
As a result of this seventh lane, the speed limit on the bridge will be permanently lowered from 90 km/h to 70 km/h to “keep travellers safe and traffic flowing efficiently during counter-flow”.
However, according to the BC government, this $70M project will help motorists save approximately 15 minutes on their commute.
The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure expects the road work to take about three nights to complete.
Update [Aug. 14]:
The Ministry of Transportation has announced that the improvement project is behind schedule.
“We’re hoping for late this year, we haven’t put an exact time frame around it. This project isn’t on time, it is slightly delayed”, a representative said.
For more local news, stay tuned to our News section.
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