The provincial government announced its plans to widen Highway 1 in the Fraser Valley starting this summer.
Construction will start with a new 232 Street interchange as part of the Fraser Valley Highway 1 Corridor Improvement Program, announced Rob Fleming, B.C. minister of transportation and infrastructure.
“Our government knows that people in the Fraser Valley face lengthy commuting times in and out of Vancouver and within this region each and every day of their lives,” Fleming commented at the media announcement at the 232 Street interchange on Thursday, May 23.
“We’re set to start major construction this summer to widen Highway 1 between 216 and 264 Streets and upgrade another essential crossing at 232 Street.”
The 264th Street interchange is the location with the highest number of crashes in Langley.
The new interchange will also stand one metre taller for commercial trucks, 5.2 metres tall in total, to reduce instances of collisions by over-height trucks, Fleming added.
“We are also pursuing active transportation, cycling, and pedestrian traffic… [which] will include three metre wide multi-use pathways on each side of the interchange so that this crossing becomes more than just a conduit for vehicles, but it’s safe for people and cyclists to use it.”
The project will widen approximately 10 kilometres of Highway 1 between 216 and 264 Streets, adding eastbound and westbound HOV lanes, which Fleming said will allow for better bus commutes.
A $140 million contract for the highway expansion and construction of new 232 Street interchange work has been awarded to a joint venture between BD Hall Constructors Corp. and Jacob Brothers Construction Inc.
This widening is the next phase in a series of widening projects that are planned to head out through Abbotsford.
Fleming also announced a third phase of the program to widen the highway out to Chilliwack.
“We are committed to building climate resilient infrastructure going forward that will widen the highway all the way out to Chilliwack, so that this highway works to Hope and beyond where the destination of goods and people are going to,” Fleming said after remarks about the atmospheric rivers in 2021 that removed access to the highway in parts of Abbotsford.
In the meantime, the Glover Road overpass was completed as of Friday, May 24, and reopened to traffic.
“It is fantastic to see the new Glover Road crossing reopening. It is so important for people who live and work in our community, making it easier and faster for area residents to get around,” said Megan Dykeman, MLA for Langley East.
This phase of highway widening, out to 264th Street, will cost $345 million, and includes funding of $96.05 million from the federal government.
The project was originally announced in 2017, when the estimated cost was $235.5 million.
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