Vancouver Canada's various bridges

[Mr.Habitat]

Lions Gate bridge
http://www.cherrybouton.com/gfx/lgate-04.jpg

http://www.bestwesterncapilano.com/cms_images/lionsgate.jpg

http://www.seestanleypark.com/dtoverview/aerial/lgdtovair3.JPG

http://www.pierluigisurace.it/imagerie/images/aatw/DOT_BC_Vancouver_Lions_Gate_Bridge.jpg

http://www.soprovich.com/site_images/100798.jpg

http://www.canadaphotos.info/photoscanada/photographs/vancouver/17.jpg

http://www.wildbc.com/09370002.jpg

ALEX FRASER BRIDGE (connecting the vancouver suburbs of Delta to Richmond and New WEstminister)

http://www.geocities.com/big_bridges1/fraser3.jpg

http://www.b-t.com/projects/alexday.jpg

http://lavian.net/Blog/Weekend03.jpg

http://www.globalairphotos.com/images/bc/delta/2003/dlh2003_117.jpg


The ever ugly, port mann bridge connecting surrey to new westminister and coquitlam

http://www.vanc.igs.net/~roughley/graphics/rail/pm_view11.jpg

http://www.bearspage.info/h/tru/i/pm.jpg

http://www.bakerlite.co.uk/pics/Canada/Vancouver/day4/day4-08.jpg

http://www.globalairphotos.com/images/bc/coquitlam/2004/cqh2004_099.jpg

SEcond narrows bridge connecting North Vancouver to Vancouver

http://www.seevancouverbc.com/story/story1/6033-11.JPG

Granville street bridge

http://www.pierluigisurace.it/imagerie/images/aatw/DOT_BC_Vancouver_Granville_Street_Bridge.jpg

http://s87165054.onlinehome.us/gizzypooh/pics/granvillebridge.jpg

Burrard street Bridge

http://members.aol.com/vancvent/private/burrard1.jpg

http://ca.geocities.com/lotuslandletters/1000-13.jpg

Vancouvers skytrain rapid transit Bridge

http://www.bvg.de/ueber/images/design1402.jpg

http://members.shaw.ca/robkwong/images/Trans2.jpg

http://www.b-t.com/projects/skytrain.jpg

http://www.urbanrail.net/am/vanc/vancouver-skybridge.jpg

http://www.subways.net/canada/skybridge.jpg

http://www.barp.ca/bus/bctransit/vancouver/0217.jpg

[Phlip]

Thanks for these photos - the mountains behind the city are magnificent, and I love the second last photo of the skytrain apparently suspended in front of the snow capped peaks. As I asked on another thread, do you know of any plans to build a bridge to Victoria on Vancouver Island?

[Rapid]

Thats a great way to enter the city, from the airport!

[npinguy]

Thanks for these photos - the mountains behind the city are magnificent, and I love the second last photo of the skytrain apparently suspended in front of the snow capped peaks. As I asked on another thread, do you know of any plans to build a bridge to Victoria on Vancouver Island?

they've been "talking" about it for a decade.

as you may know there's a lot of little islands in an "archipelago" of sorts BETWEEN vancouver and vancouver islands - so it's not a direct line.


Basically with all the nature, and all the ferries and all the ships (since vancouver is such a busy port too) the logistics of it all seem to be too complicated. Oh i'm sure if someone invested a billion bux into it and sat down and tried to figure out how to actually do it, they'd find a way. But nobody has looked at it that seriously so far. The ferry system, flawes as it is, works for most people

[atlantico]

Beautiful!

[mr.x]

a road connection to Vancouver Island would be the world's longest bridge/tunnel and would cost CDN$13 billion....hope it doesn't turn out to be another big dig. The ferry system that goes to the island and back to the mainland is the world's second largest ferry fleet (35 vessels, 50 routes, 45 ports). BC Ferries is planning to buy 22 ferries by the end of 2015 for two billion.......btw, SkyBridge (SkyTrain bridge to Surrey) is the world's longest transit only bridge.

and nice pics!

[Ashok]

nice... the Lions Gate bridge reminds me of the Golden Gate bridge in San Franciso

[Phlip]

a road connection to Vancouver Island would be the world's longest bridge/tunnel and would cost CDN$13 billion....hope it doesn't turn out to be another big dig.

How far is it, and are we talking direct or via the islands as suggested above? How does this compare with the Confederation Bridge at the other end of Canada? If Canada can build THAT, then surely there is an arguement for a bridge to Vancouver Island.



The ferry system that goes to the island and back to the mainland is the world's second largest ferry fleet (35 vessels, 50 routes, 45 ports). BC Ferries is planning to buy 22 ferries by the end of 2015 for two billion.

Second to what - do you know? Here in Australia, Sydney has quite an impressive ferry system but I don't know any stats to compare with these. I have never heard mention of it being the largest ferry system in the world...

[mr.x]

How far is it, and are we talking direct or via the islands as suggested above? How does this compare with the Confederation Bridge at the other end of Canada? If Canada can build THAT, then surely there is an arguement for a bridge to Vancouver Island.

Second to what - do you know? Here in Australia, Sydney has quite an impressive ferry system but I don't know any stats to compare with these. I have never heard mention of it being the largest ferry system in the world...

we're talking about directly to the island....there's only one realistic route that goes from Tsawassen fery terminal in Vancouver, which is the biggest ferry terminal in the nation directly to the Island. the bridge/tunnel would have to be at least 50 km long. the Confederation bridge only has two lanes of road where as this bridge/tunnel here in the west coast has 6-8 lanes, plus two emergency lanes and a high speed rail link on the connection and there would be rapid transit lines on the end of the bridge on the island going to Victoria and on the other side, to Vancouver. the Confederation bridge also sits in shallower water where as Georgia Strait here in BC is very deep....there are also a few Georgia Strait factors: tons of seismic activity, seabed keeps moving, high winds, big ocean currents, and big waves plus a ton of water traffic. also, a lot more people would use this bridge than the Confederation. 100,000 people and 40,000 vehicles move back and forth Vancouver Island everyday by ferry and it's rising....the ferry system is flawed with people waiting for a ferry for as long as 2 hours and the ferries are old too. Vancouver Island has a population of 1 million and more and more people want to live there......a road connection would do so much good for the economy.


i'm not sure we're second to who.

[npinguy]

we're talking about directly to the island....there's only one realistic route that goes from Tsawassen fery terminal in Vancouver, which is the biggest ferry terminal in the nation directly to the Island. the bridge/tunnel would have to be at least 50 km long. the Confederation bridge only has two lanes of road where as this bridge/tunnel here in the west coast has 6-8 lanes, plus two emergency lanes and a high speed rail link on the connection and there would be rapid transit lines on the end of the bridge on the island going to Victoria and on the other side, to Vancouver. the Confederation bridge also sits in shallower water where as Georgia Strait here in BC is very deep....there are also a few Georgia Strait factors: tons of seismic activity, seabed keeps moving, high winds, big ocean currents, and big waves plus a ton of water traffic. also, a lot more people would use this bridge than the Confederation. 100,000 people and 40,000 vehicles move back and forth Vancouver Island everyday by ferry and it's rising....the ferry system is flawed with people waiting for a ferry for as long as 2 hours and the ferries are old too. Vancouver Island has a population of 1 million and more and more people want to live there......a road connection would do so much good for the economy.


i'm not sure we're second to who.


seems like too much of a hassle to try to get around all these problems.


let's just wait until teleportation is invented.

[sukh]

love the bridges.

[Daffy]

I've used the ferry system and it is indeed impressive in scale and services. The ride from Nanaimo to West Vancouver is incredibly beautiful on a fine day with the mountains all the way up the coast and the occasional dolphin and killer whales etc.

The ferry system is international too; I got to Victoria BC by ferry from Seattle.

By the way I like the Port Mann bridge main span; it's looks like it has used the least amount of steel possible for such a long span. It must be a "Lively" main span - bouncy and quivery. If it had footpaths those pedestrians not terrorised by the crossing would probably get motion sickness.

[benji45]

I think a bridge would be a bad Idea and I never realized how wide it would be! 10 lanes? Thats five in each direction right? That would be massive, it deffiently wouldnt get a lot of traffic, thats for sure.

[empersouf]

What amazing bridges. :eek:

[Tri-City Guy]

Vancouver has a good selection of bridges and if I had a dollar for everytime I crossed both the Granville and Burrard Bridges, I'd be a rich man. Still, I never crossed the most iconic of them all - The Lions Gate. I have lots of energy but that bridge always seemed like way too much effort. With its approaches its sooo long. Next time I'm in Vancouver I will have to make a point of crossing the bastard though - lol Its a mission.

[VAN-TO]

I find it quite interesting to watch the different settings of Burrard Bridge throughout the year at www.katkam.ca (http://www.katkam.ca )

[officedweller]

You missed the Cambie Street Bridge! Nothing spectacular, I know, but well used.

http://www.bearspage.info/h/tra/ca/bc/va/i/se/s385.jpg

http://www.bearspage.info/h/tra/ca/bc/va/i/se/s386.jpg

http://www.bearspage.info/h/tra/ca/bc/va/i/se/s390.jpghttp://www.bearspage.info/h/tra/ca/bc/va/i/se/s391.jpg

http://www.bearspage.info/h/tra/ca/bc/va/i/se/s415.jpghttp://www.bearspage.info/h/tra/ca/bc/va/i/se/s450.jpg

[Vanman]

Vancouver has a good selection of bridges and if I had a dollar for everytime I crossed both the Granville and Burrard Bridges, I'd be a rich man. Still, I never crossed the most iconic of them all - The Lions Gate. I have lots of energy but that bridge always seemed like way too much effort. With its approaches its sooo long. Next time I'm in Vancouver I will have to make a point of crossing the bastard though - lol Its a mission.


WHAT, Lions Gate is the best bridge of them all, especially driving over it towards downtown, the views from there of the city are fantastic,fucking fantastic

[abrowser]

I kept googling to see if there was any 'proposals' I only found one by the BC government. After getting keyhole.com service as a trial I was looking at this area. Seems like it's doable from Anacortes Wa. to just north of Victoria BC (Saanich?). IF Wa. state or the Fed. would have to ante up all the stuff necessary ($ & such) to construct a series of highways and bridges (all look like the spans across water are average to small spans) across several of the San Juan Islands and allow construction on the parklands on the 'last' US island-from there it looks like a bridge span that would be just a bit smaller that the Kaiko bridge in Japan (complete name escapes me at the moment) and from there a series of highways and bridges constructed on the islands one the Canadian side to Vancouver Island-of course BC/Canada ante up all the stuff necessary (CDN$ & such) for the Canadian side-the spans don't appear to be too long, all less than the Kaiko bridge in Japan. But I suppose there is probably great opposition to that on the USA/Canada side-San Juan Islands want to be only ferry accessable as well as Victoria and environs. Just like the proposals to build a bridge/tunnel/dam(?) across the Bering Strait-it probably won't happen in anyone living today lifetime.

[Huhu]

The Granville, Cambie, and Burrard Street bridges are very close together, connecting the west side of the city directly to the downtown penninsula. Does anyone have a picture showing all three together?

Granville Bridge
http://dschaub.froods.ca/albums/vancouver/Foggy_Granville_Bridge.sized.jpg
Cambie Bridge
http://dschaub.froods.ca/albums/vancouver/Cambie_Bridge.sized.jpg

Richmond bridges. Arthur Laing in the foreground, Oak Street in the middle, and Knight Street in the distance.
http://www.globalairphotos.com/images/bc/richmond/2004/rhh2004_170.jpg

[queetz@home]

WHAT, Lions Gate is the best bridge of them all, especially driving over it towards downtown, the views from there of the city are fantastic,fucking fantastic

Well, since the traffic in that particular bridge barely moves at all, one does not have a choice but to sit in their idling car and stare at the downtown area. I think they should tear it down and build a bigger one to meet the needs of the growing population.

[benji45]

I'm with you. I think they need to rip ALL the highways down and build them wider. Wtf is with the constant 4 lane "roads"

[jer4893]

A bridge to the island would be convienient, but very dissapointing. If you lived in Vancouver you would realize how much it would wreck the area. The ferry system works, it still takes 2 hours to get from Tsawwassen ferry terminal to Swartz Bay (Victoria) but its not only the fact that a bridge would wreck the area but also that the ferries are a tourist attraction, a "fun" thing to go on and visit.

[jer4893]

btw, the Vancouver so called road system does suck, we really need to do something about it.

[VAN-TO]

The roadway's fine as it is. There's already so much sprawl, no point encouraging it further.

[jer4893]

No, it's not fine. If you were to live here and be in the traffic every single day, you would relize that Vancouver needs a few more freeways and expanded roads, tunnels and bridges.

[DrJoe]

meh, everyone complains about traffic no matter were you go.

[VAN-TO]

No, it's not fine. If you were to live here and be in the traffic every single day, you would relize that Vancouver needs a few more freeways and expanded roads, tunnels and bridges.

My parents & brother now life in Burnaby (@ SFU). They know how bad the traffic is, but they told me that the best solution for the area is PT, not roads and highways. No matter how many lanes you keep adding to Ioco, Lougheed, Barnet, Hwy1, 99, UpperLevels, or Kingsway, it's still not enough to serve Port Moody, PoCo, & Coquitlam. Just look at the sprawl at Surrey, it's an utter waste of land. New subdivisions will just keep growing East, past Pitt Meadows, Langley, etc, etc if you build more highways for them. BTW, one works at DT, & the other works on the North Shore, so they know 1st hand how bad it gets.

Toronto traffic can often be as bad/worse as Vancouver's (try driving on Rutherford Rd./Hwy 7 during Rush hours - low density areas where they are served by more highways than PT), so building more roads isn't really the answer.

[yesheh]

living at SFU with PT is one thing, but try living further out in the valley; it's a good hour out to SFU from langley. even surrey, with a population of half a million, has poor public transit, and generally anywhere east of the fraser it is impossible to live without a car...Twin the port mann!

Adrian

[VAN-TO]

^ Then why would you live all the way out there? The point of expanding PT is so the GVRD can densify & curb urban sprawl. With its horrible traffic, Translink is in the perfect position to expand its PT line and take advantage of increased ridership.

[en]

What Vancouver (and BC) needs is better consistent road signs, and lighted ones on the highways too, I notice that some overhead highway signs used to be lighted, but now all of them have no lights.

We should follow Portland...if I remember correctly, they have signs at almost every intersection telling you how to get to an "attraction" (ie. mall) of that area.

[*Jarrod]

vancouver roads suck. they really do, they're so congested and with a population of over 2million now, they really have sub-standard roads. people have to realize that people are going to keep on moving there and moving out in the 'burbs, but the roads and bridges need to be fixed and improved.

[rt_0891]

I agree. The TCH is a joke.

[snitsky]

Engineers in asia always work their tails off trying to figure out ways to do impossible things, the province of B.C. should hire some, and figure out a way to get the bridge built from Vancouver island to Vancouver.

[_ViNcE]

very nice pics

[rt_0891]

http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/2222/dsc28865yh.jpg

[Nouvellecosse]

They shouldn't build a bridge to Vancouver Island, they should build a rail tunnel like the Eurotunnel. It should have two rail tracks serving passenger, freight, and ferry trains that carry vehicles like those on the Eurotunnel. The tunnel should be be built above ground and be placed in position on the ocean floor like the BART tube and big dig tunnel. There would still be a reduced ferry service for people who aren't in a hurry, want to cross in other places or are on vacation. There is still a ferry between N.S. and P.E.I. despite the popularity of the fixed link between P.E.I and N.B. I was on both last summer.

Also, I think the Lion's Gate Bridge should be replaced by a six lane expressway bridge. The road section through Stanley park should be burried as a six lane, double decked, controlled access expressway. The noise and exhaust in the park would be greatly reduced if this were to happen. The current three lane commuter route is a blight to the park. As part of the project, a narrower continuation of the expressway should continue under the West End and False Creek thus allowing some of the traffic to bypass the downtown peninsula.

[jer4893]

I'm not so sure about a expressway in the downtown area. A good solution would be to continue Hwy 99 from Richmond (burried underground) up Granville and curve to connect to Hwy 1. Making most of 99 in Richmond and Vancouver 3 lanes would also be a good idea as well as expanding a lot of Route 1. Improving The Gate is a good plan but an expressway is not nessecary downtown considering the size of the city and that we have worked so hard to prevent this. Because I am not sure on how much the different routes through Vancouver are used, this may not be the better idea but I don't really like the idea of an expressway downtown.

I like the idea of the rail link to the Island. Better ferries that have a hhigher capacity should also be considered.

[nname]

well... I think if they want to connect the southern highways (99/91) to Hwy 1, it would be much easier to extend Hwy 91A in New Westminster to somewhere near Galardi way due to a shorter distance. The cost of digging a huge tunnel from Oak to Hwy 1 would be enough to build an entire rapid transit network for Vancouver...

[jer4893]

I know it would be very expensive but we were talking about an expressway through Vancouver to relieve traffic.

[fox1]

very cool shot!!

[Nouvellecosse]

I assume that the Lion's Gate Bridge has a pedestrian walkway, but does it have a bike lane? How about the Second Narrows Bridge? If the city were to replace the LGB with a new suspension bridge, it would be a good idea to consider including a skytrain route on it, perhaps on a second deck. Even though the road should be burried through the park, the skytrain could be elevated through the former road corridor above a bicycle route providing riders with beautiful views.

Also, I realize that the fear of increased sprawl makes people apprehensive about building an expressway into downtown - a concern that I would normally share, but there wouldn't be much chance of that resulting from an expressway over the harbour because as I understand, there is fairly limited space on the northshore and densities are already high there.

[rt_0891]

http://img281.imageshack.us/img281/5203/img00037wm.jpg

http://img86.imageshack.us/img86/9458/dsc15938ya.jpg

[spongeg]

i was watching a new york station wpix - on cable in vancouver - and there was a mitsubishi commercial that came on - they sht part of it on the Alex Fraser bridge and other parts in front of Surrey Central - it was cool

anyway i always thought they should put a bridge here - what do you think?

forgive my crude rendering...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v62/spongeg/BOUNDARYROADBRIDGE.jpg

somehow make boundary road more of a thorugh way - tunnel parts perhaps to let hwy #1 have a direct connection with the east west connector - making it much better and easier to get from richmond to the north shore of burnaby etc. be able to avoid having to go through Vancouver

[spongeg]

and speaking of Vancouver bridges - does anyone know what the new skytrain bridge will look like? for where it crosses over to Richmond...

I wonder if it will be as impressive as the other bridge

[j4893k]

Considering what the cost would be to tunnel parts of the road and even build it in the first place, I don't think it would be a smart decision. Boundary would intersect E-W Connector in an area where there is pretty much nothing. Most people that area using the E-W are either going to Surrey/Delta or to Richmond Richmond... Not cranberry fields/farmland Richmond... Likewise, most people in the north side of the North Arm are also going to Richmond Richmond or Surrey/Delta so I don't think it would be too much of a difference to travel along Marine and use the Alex Fraser, Knight, Oak or even Arthur Laing to cross the Fraser.

[j4893k]

And i looked all over the place but it's a friday night, i'm sick as hell, and i want to go to bed so you can hunt all you want in the Western Provinces section cause i'm positive there is a rendering of the Canada Line bridge there. It looks similar to the sky bridge.

[spongeg]

i found one and posted it in the subway section

i think a bridge would be good there - people coming from the south to get to whistler have to travel through downtown traffic usually since the main freeway turns into oak street

they could get onto the east west connector and follow signs that say "whistler"

and i would find it much easier to get off hwy #1 and over to richmond for the airport etc. I am in coquitlam and as it is now you have to work your way through new west and burnaby and south vancouver - its awful with all the lights

anyway its just an idea - a dream so cost is irrelevabnt

the city definately needs more crossings - i think one somewhere just west of the port mann between coquitlam - thinking near IKEA - to Surrey would be good too

getting to surrey central is a pain in the ass - it takes forever to crawl through new west traffic and the patullo and once you hit surrey its fine - example i live near loughheed mall my friend lives in fleetwood - i can get onto highway #1 and cross the portman and be at his house in about 15 minutes - even in rush hour on a weekday - i have done it a few times where i have had to meet him at surrey central and it has taken me more than 45 minutes to get there at the same time in rush hour

some kind of hwy #1 and hwy #99 connection could really change the flow of traffic in the lower mainland though and branching off the e/w connector is really the only way you could do that - thats why i figure that area cause boundary has a connection with hey #1 already

i only say tunnel parts because people would be pissed to be stuck at traffic lights or maybe they wouldn't - boundary road isn' too bad and so much better than knight street or oak

just an idea - i have to get to Daiso at least once a month ;)

[spongeg]

anywa i just thought that cause visited portlan for the first time a few months ago and was amazed how easy it was to get from portland north to tigard along all the interconnecting freeways

[matthewcs]

Just a note, the second narrows real name is the Iron workers memorial bridge in honour of the workers who died building it.

[mr.x]

No more new bridges, unless it's part of the GVRD Livable Region Strategic Plan........e.g. Golden Ears.


CANADA LINE NORTH ARM FRASER RIVER BRIDGE

Illustration of the bridge over the North Arm of the Fraser River.
http://www.canadaline.ca/images/construction6.gif


Illustration of bicycle and pedestrian path, North Arm Fraser Bridge.
http://www.canadaline.ca/images/construction7.gif

[isaidso]

Second to what - do you know? Here in Australia, Sydney has quite an impressive ferry system but I don't know any stats to compare with these. I have never heard mention of it being the largest ferry system in the world...

I did some quick digging, but don't know how realiable these statistics are. Wikipedia says that BC Ferries has the 2nd largest passenger ferry system in the world with 37 vessels capable of holding 27,000 people. I don't know by what measure they determined this. Perhaps capacity of 27,000? In terms of passengers carried I found the following:

Star Ferries (Hong Kong): 26 million passengers, 8 vessels, 4 destinations
Washington State Ferries: 25 million passengers, 28 vessels, 20 ports of call
BC Ferries: 21 million passengers, 37 vessels, 47 ports of call
Staten Island Ferry (New York): 19 million passengers, 5 vessels, 1 destination
Sydney Ferries: 18 million passengers, 31 vessels, a network rather than travelling back and forth between 2 points

These seem to be the Big 5

[spongeg]

this bridge is under construction

http://www.b-t.com/images/400/goldenears.jpg

http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/thumb/2/28/400px-Golden_Ears_Bridge_rendering.JPG

a pic from may of 2007

http://web.bcnewsgroup.com/portals/uploads/langley/.DIR288/2007_05_25_Golden_Ears_Bridge_070525.jpg

this bridge will be replacing an existing swing bridge over the pitt river

http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/gateway/photos/gallery/Rendering_Pitt_River_Bridge.jpg

[OettingerCroat]

this city has got amazing bridges, ive always loved Vancouver and BC, good luck with more great bridges!

[taiwanesedrummer36]

In my opinion, I think the Vancouver is having an overkill of cable-stayed bridges. The craze started with the Alex Fraser bridge, and now the designs of new cable-stayed bridges are too similar to the AFB. For example, the Alex Fraser bridge will have similar designs to the Golden Ears bridge, Port Mann twinned bridge, and the Pitt River bridge. It's not that I don't like cable-stayed bridges (I love them), but I think the Vancouver area should make their cable-stayed bridges have unique designs that stand out.

Also, does anyone know why Vancouver won't allow additional lanes on bridges connecting the city to outlying areas? I drive to Vancouver frequently and get stuck in backups on the narrow four-lane bridges. Does the city know that this kind of "traffic hassle" will only get worse?

[Squiggles]

Vancouver's city limits spread across a lot of terrain, so these bridges are common. The fact that they're able to make them look this impressive is a definate plus. The Lion's Gate bridge is my personal favorite.

[Vancouverite]

Several found photos of the Lions Gate Bridge, my favourite in Vancouver.

http://img115.imageshack.us/img115/4422/lionsgatebridge3zh7.jpg

http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/1151/lionsgatebridgeairom9.jpg

http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/1913/downtownvancouverandliojs0.jpg

It was built in 1938 by a private consortium financed by the Guinness family of beer fame to connect to the exclusive British Properties mountain-side executive suburb. The Guinness family sold the bridge to the BC Provincial Government in 1955 and it has remained publicly owned ever since. It is 1.8 kilometres long with a central span of 472 metres.


An interesting angle of the Granville Street Bridge looking north into a sliver of the the downtown core. The roadway is enormous and illustrates its initial design as a highway bridge.

http://img53.imageshack.us/img53/3443/granvillestreetbridgeinvd0.jpg

[edit]

Lastly, I vehemently disagree with putting a freeway into the downtown core, let alone demolishing the Lions Gate Bridge to build something larger. What we need is more SkyTrain Lines and commuter rail. We can make better use of our existing road infrastructure while simultaneously increasing transportation choice. I sympathize with those who are stuck on Highway One every day but it should be these people who are the fiercest advocates for rapid transit. Why bankrupt ourselves exclusively building road infrastructure that we know will be filled up immediately and offer no lasting improvements when we could instead bankrupt ourselves by building rapid transit lines and widening the highways to offer end-to-end HOV/freight lanes? We're going to spend a mint either way so let's put the money where we know it will do the most good. That is how we will address the region's traffic issues while increasing the region's economic and social resiliency in the face of increasing fuel prices. The City of Vancouver is the only city in Canada where commute times and absolute traffic volume are falling and it is land-use, better pedestrian and bike infrastructure and transit that is making the difference. I am not the least bit surprised that low-density suburbs/semi-rural exurbs are facing escalating traffic issues. That is the inevitable outcome of that pattern of urbanization.

[trainrover]

Funny. For a landlocked city, it's interesting just how partitioned Vancouver ends up being with all its bottle-neck bridges. It's hard to cross town there without having to take some bridge.

[Gary_A_Hill]

They shouldn't build a bridge to Vancouver Island, they should build a rail tunnel like the Eurotunnel. ...

I doubt if that is economic. Eurotunnel connects two large cities, London and Paris. Vancouver to Victoria hardly compares. Also, I expect much of the traffic to Vancouver Island is for tourism (I've done that). Tourists want to take their cars, and taking a car ferry is part of the experience of vacationing in the region.

Also, I think the Lion's Gate Bridge should be replaced by a six lane expressway bridge. ...

I can't imagine why this would be done, if it's in good condition. Is this idea being seriously considered?

[Vancouverite]

^ No. It isn't being talked about at all.

The Lions Gate Bridge just finished a major rehabilitation a couple years ago when an entirely new bridge deck was installed section by section during the night so as to not disrupt travel during the day.

Another photo of the Granville Street Bridge and part of the downtown core.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y101/oct2gon/Image1-2.jpg

Lions Gate Bridge and part of Metro Vancouver.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y101/oct2gon/1360341671_da84d83912_b.jpg

Original post (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=15398552&postcount=480). Credit to Mr.X and Delerium.

[spongeg]

Funny. For a landlocked city, it's interesting just how partitioned Vancouver ends up being with all its bottle-neck bridges. It's hard to cross town there without having to take some bridge.

tell me bout it

for a city of its size it needs at least 5 more bridges

better connectuions between cities - like surrey and coquitlam, burnaby and richmond, burnaby and the north shore, new west and surrey and poco and surrey

but people would rather see mass transit instead of better connections

[isaidso]

I doubt if that is economic. Eurotunnel connects two large cities, London and Paris. Vancouver to Victoria hardly compares. Also, I expect much of the traffic to Vancouver Island is for tourism (I've done that). Tourists want to take their cars, and taking a car ferry is part of the experience of vacationing in the region.


You are correct about the economics of this, but how does the span between Vancouver and Vancouver Island compare with other spans around the world? Between France and Britain, Denmark and Sweden, etc. It may not be economical now, but a few decades down the road, it will probably happen. Vancouver Island's population is about 850,000 and skyrocketing.

What may happen is that the southern tip will get a fixed link to Washington State before one to the Canadian mainland. Not in our national interest, but less ocean would need to be crossed due to the archipelago that stretches east towards the USA.

[Huhu]

^^ The Olympic Peninsula is still not as populated nor connected politically/economically to Vancouver Island than Metro Vancouver. The ferry crossings across the border is mostly for tourism when compared with the ones linking Vancouver and the Island.

[Gary_A_Hill]

^^ The Olympic Peninsula is still not as populated nor connected politically/economically to Vancouver Island than Metro Vancouver. The ferry crossings across the border is mostly for tourism when compared with the ones linking Vancouver and the Island.

No doubt. What percentage of the ferry travel between Vancouver and the island is tourism? Business travel? Everything else? I would expect that mainlanders with business in Victoria, such as for government, would use commuter airlines. Is that correct?

[Brett]

If there was a bridge to the mainland I would come visit all the time! I just can't stomach the $100+ round trip with my car on the ferry very often.

[Vancouverite]

A bridge to Vancouver Island may come about at some point in the future but it is unlikely for decades to come. The main reason for this is that BC Ferries is spending hundreds of millions to build a new fleet to primarily serve the Lower Mainland - Vancouver Island routes. The absolutely shortest bridge involved in a direct link from the Lower Mainland to Vancouver Island would be in excess of 20km long. Any series of new mountain-side highways and major bridges would cost many billions and there just isn't an economic argument for that at this point. Twenty five years down the line it may well be a different story but even then I doubt a fixed bridge(s) would be preferable to ferry service. Besides, any bridge and highway connection would require construction in some of the most beautiful and environmentally sensitive areas on the West Coast and a shorter car trip isn't worth it.

[Jean Luc]

http://members.shaw.ca/robkwong/images/Trans2.jpg
Why is there such a wide gap between the tracks?

[zivan56]

There are spare rails in the middle. There was also talk of being able to install a 3rd track in the future...

[Vancouverite]

http://img180.imageshack.us/img180/2712/p1050292rq2.jpg

http://img251.imageshack.us/img251/6414/goldenearsbridgejan2920yw4.jpg

http://img413.imageshack.us/img413/275/p1050296mf6.jpg

http://img403.imageshack.us/img403/1632/p1050286zh0.jpg

http://img251.imageshack.us/img251/7999/p1050289cl3.jpg

http://img251.imageshack.us/img251/6862/p1050302wb8.jpg

http://img508.imageshack.us/img508/1126/p1050301uy2.jpg

My photos, taken Tuesday, January 29th

Background (From mr.x2's excellent thread (http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=141025) in the Vancouver section)

http://www.thunderbirdvillage.ca/images/Golden-Ears-Bridge_map.jpg

http://www.goldenearsbridge.ca/upload/images/Gallery/Medium/bridge_medium.jpg

[Nouvellecosse]

I doubt if that is economic. Eurotunnel connects two large cities, London and Paris. Vancouver to Victoria hardly compares. Also, I expect much of the traffic to Vancouver Island is for tourism (I've done that). Tourists want to take their cars, and taking a car ferry is part of the experience of vacationing in the region.I don't know...

The way I see it, such a bridge might have to be nearly twice as long as the Confederation Bridge, but Vancouver Island has a population of more than 5x that of P.E.I., and metro Vancouver has more people than NS and NB combined, so if we can have a fixed link, u should be able to have one as well. I realise there are other factors like deeper water, but we had the whole sea ice and high winds/currents to deal with as well. And BC is a much wealthier area.

[Vancouverite]

If I understand it correctly the Confederation Bridge was not built because the economy of PEI warranted it, but instead it was built as a cost-saving measure for the Federal Government. As a condition of confederation the Feds promised to maintain a continuous transportation link with PEI, just the same way it maintains a link with every Provincial capital. The government help subsidize a ferry all these years because a bridge wasn't feasible. In BC the Federal Government subsidizes a portion of the cost of the ferry crossing that links TransCanada highway on the mainland to Vancouver Island. The Confederation Bridge was a one-off to take the PEI link off of its balance sheet.

[northwest2k]

The lions gate bridge is absolute garbage. I've been underneath at the base of the support pillars when repairs were being done. The massive bolts holding the pillars to the base were so rusted they could be kicked in half. Thats what happens when you build a metal bridge so close to the ocean. Salt gets in every little crack.

[mr.x]

The lions gate bridge is absolute garbage. I've been underneath at the base of the support pillars when repairs were being done. The massive bolts holding the pillars to the base were so rusted they could be kicked in half. Thats what happens when you build a metal bridge so close to the ocean. Salt gets in every little crack.

What do you expect? Lions Gate Bridge is nearing its 100th anniversary. Even you yourself mentioned that they were making repairs, so what is your problem?

[sn1101]

great pics !

[jlousa]

I agree, stupid metal bridges. We should make them out of plastic, everyone knows plastic takes 1000s of years to break down, we could even install a retractable roof on the bridge. :bash:

On a completely unrelated matter, northwest2k, do you know Towerguy?

[northwest2k]

I agree, stupid metal bridges. We should make them out of plastic, everyone knows plastic takes 1000s of years to break down, we could even install a retractable roof on the bridge. :bash:

On a completely unrelated matter, northwest2k, do you know Towerguy?

Or we could make them out of concrete like 99% of bridges now a days

And who is towerguy?

[officedweller]

The lions gate bridge is absolute garbage. I've been underneath at the base of the support pillars when repairs were being done. The massive bolts holding the pillars to the base were so rusted they could be kicked in half. Thats what happens when you build a metal bridge so close to the ocean. Salt gets in every little crack.

Interestingly, the anchor bolts for the causeway piers on the north side of the bridge were permanently removed. The piers are held in place by flanges that tuck under plates that are bolted into the foundations - so that the piers can shift in the event of an earthquake.

[isaidso]

^^ The Olympic Peninsula is still not as populated nor connected politically/economically to Vancouver Island than Metro Vancouver. The ferry crossings across the border is mostly for tourism when compared with the ones linking Vancouver and the Island.

The principle goal of such a bridge would be to provide a permanent fixed link across water to spur economic development of Vancouver Island. Whether the Olympic Peninsula is populated or not is irrelevant. What is relevant is where the most logical placement of such a bridge should be. It is usually the shortest span across the water.

It is mainland North America that Vancouver Island is interested in, not Olympic Peninsula, nor is tourism the principle motivator. Increased tourism would be a side benefit. Fixed links spur economic links. It is precisely the lack of a fixed link that has prevented a lack of economic and political integration. This is exactly what the bridge would help fix.

That said, it is precisely my argument that it would be advantageous to Canada if any future fixed link from Vancouver Island went directly to Vancouver rather than via Washington State. Whether it is feasible or not is another matter.

[Cameo1]

Richmond bridges. Arthur Laing in the foreground, Oak Street in the middle, and Knight Street in the distance.
http://www.globalairphotos.com/images/bc/richmond/2004/rhh2004_170.jpg[/QUOTE]

Anyone notice there is a plane in the water?

[hoosier]

but people would rather see mass transit instead of better connections

Then what is the Golden Ears Bridge?

[zivan56]

Canada Line North Arm bridge (Skytrain and pedestrian bridge):
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2312/2327865527_7524182396_b.jpg
(from flickr)
http://www.seataf.com/blogs/canadaline/2008-04-02/images/KICX9521.jpg
(from canadalinephotos.blogspot.com)

Canada Line Middle Arm bridge (Skytrain only):
http://www.seataf.com/blogs/canadaline/2008-02-22/images/KICX7451.jpg
(from canadalinephotos.blogspot.com)
http://www.seataf.com/blogs/canadaline/2007-09-04/images/KICX0922.jpg
(from canadalinephotos.blogspot.com)

[spongeg]

B.C.’s Pitt River Bridge project two-thirds completed

October 27, 2008

B.C.’s Pitt River Bridge project two-thirds completed
Pitt Meadows, British Columbia - The Pitt River Bridge and Mary Hill Interchange Project in British Columbia marked a milestone yesterday as it reached the two-thirds completion mark. The project includes a new seven-lane bridge that will replace the existing swing bridges, along with an interchange to replace the current Lougheed Highway and Mary Hill Bypass intersection.

“The Pitt River Bridge Crossing is a significant gateway for British Columbia and it’s particularly important to the people of Maple Ridge, Pitt Meadows and surrounding communities,” said B.C. premier Gordon Campbell. “Traffic over the Pitt River Bridge has almost tripled since 1985 and, with the new Golden Ears Bridge opening, more growth will follow. This new bridge and interchange will significantly improve safety and reliability along this rapidly growing transportation corridor by allowing traffic to flow more smoothly.”

The bridge design incorporates more than $8.5 million in pedestrian and cycling features, including bicycle lanes across the new bridge. The design also allows for one lane to be added in future, which could meet future demand or vehicle use or light rail rapid transit, and could be used for high-occupany vehicles and RapidBus in the interim.

The provincial and federal governments announced a cost-sharing agreement for the $198 million project in February 2007, with the province providing $108 million, and up to $90 milion by the government of Canada through the Asia-Pacific Gateway and Corridor Initiative.


http://www.canadiandriver.com/thenews/2008/10/27/bcs-pitt-river-bridge-project-reaches-milestone.htm

[lemon25]

thank you for sharing.

[lemon25]

I am a 10-year over experienced Bridge Engineer and i am looking for a bridge-related job.