Port Mann Bridge is a transportation record-breaker

A view from coquitlam as B.C. Transportation Minister Mary Polak announces the toll drivers will pay for crossing the Port Mann on Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2012. Les Bazso/PNG

Drivers will be able to commute in record time over a world-record bridge once the new Port Mann opens in December. And they’ll do it for free for the first week.

That was the news from Transportation Minister Mary Polak Thursday as she held a preview of the “engineering and architectural marvel” to mark its inclusion in the Guinness World Records.

It is now the widest bridge in the world, Polak noted.

The bridge is 65.06-metres wide, compared with Australia’s Sydney Harbour bridge at 48.8 metres. At the towers, it reaches a width of 65.231 metres. By comparison, the old Port Mann Bridge was less than 23 metres at its widest.

On Sept. 18, the bridge will be open in part to traffic on three eastbound lanes as construction continues. Driving over the bridge during this period will be free and will remain free for a week after the official opening in December.

After that, drivers with registered decals will pay $1.50 per crossing for the first year.

Former Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon, who was behind the launch of the project in 2008, said the opening of the new bridge means a new day for commuters and a boon for economic growth.

“People have no idea how major the impact is going to be,” he said. “This Trans-Canada corridor is one of the major goods movement corridors in the country. Going from a five-lane bridge to a 10-lane bridge … is going to have enormous benefits for generations to come.”

And it will impact commuters immediately.

“Certainly, it’s going to eliminate one of the big, big frustrations of living south of the Fraser, which is the huge traffic bottleneck,” he said.

“People are fed up with having to spend four and five hours a day sitting in their car idling through traffic. This is going to make a major improvement. It’s going to allow for cycling, it’s going to have HOV lanes, a rapid bus lane. It’s going to completely transform the commuter experience.”

Port Mann project director Bill Murphy of Kiewit/Flatiron called the bridge an “engineering marvel” and a “new landmark” for the region.

He and Mike Proudfoot of Transportation Investment Corp. congratulated the more than 2,000 employees who worked on the bridge.

The project included 37 kilometres of highway widening, 30 kilometres of new HOV lanes and the reconstruction of seven overpasses and nine interchanges.

Proudfoot said the endeavour took more than 8,000 person hours of work and was a “once in a lifetime” project.

Surrey MLA Dave Hayer was also on hand to mark a milestone for his constituents.

Hayer said the new bridge “should have been built 15 to 20 years ago” but constituents are relieved to finally have built.

“It’s really good news for Surrey,” he said, adding that he expected the new bridge to accelerate residential growth south of the Fraser.

“Surrey is expected to be larger than Vancouver in about 20 years. I think with this bridge opening up, we’ll be larger than Vancouver even sooner.”

econnor@theprovince.com

twitter.com/elainereporting