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Your B.C. Government

The Gateway Program

The Gateway Program is about building a comprehensive, effective transportation network that supports public transit, cycling and improved movement of people and goods because it facilitates economic growth, reduces greenhouse gas emissions and increases transportation choices for people in the lower mainland.

What your B.C. Government is doing for the Gateway Program:

  • The $3-billion Gateway Program consists of three major road and bridge improvement projects in the Lower Mainland:
  • Port Mann/Highway 1 Project: The project involves building a new bridge at the Port Mann crossing that will double existing capacity from five to ten lanes with dedicated transit and HOV lanes.  The project also includes upgrading interchanges and improving access and safety from McGill Street in Vancouver to 216th Street in Langley, a distance of approximately 37 kilometres. Highway improvements also include adding one lane in each direction west of the Port Mann Bridge, and two lanes in each direction east of the Port Mann Bridge, one of which is an HOV lane. Early work construction began in summer 2008. Completion is slated for 2013.
    • The Port Mann Bridge is congested up to 14 hours a day, making it impossible to provide reliable public transportation across it.
    • Currently, vehicle congestion costs the region up to $1.5 billion annually.
    • This investment could help travellers see a time savings of between 5 and 30 percent due to reduced congestion and idling.
    • The project will provide for the first bus service across the Port Mann Bridge in over 20 years, including a new RapidBus service over the Port Mann will be the first that will allow commuters to travel all the way from Langley to Coquitlam or Burnaby in less than 25 minutes.
    • Gateway includes a $50-million investment in cycling infrastructure – the largest such investment in B.C.’s history.
    • Since 2004, the Gateway Program has held 56 open houses and more than 115 small group meetings to consult with the public about planning.
  • South Fraser Perimeter Road Project: The project involves the construction of a new four-lane route, approximately 40 km in length, along the south side of the Fraser River. The road will extend from the existing Highway 17/Deltaport Way intersection in Delta to 176th Street in Surrey, with connections to Highways 1, 91 and 99 and TransLink’s new Golden Ears Bridge currently under construction. Preliminary work began in summer 2008, and the project was launched in January 2009. Completion is scheduled for 2012.
    • The new route will help ease heavily congested municipal streets and reroute truck traffic away from residential neighbourhoods, thereby improving safety and air quality, restoring municipal roads as community connectors, and reducing travel times.
    • Cycling paths will be included, with parallel routes developed around higher speed and higher traffic volume merge areas as well as at complex interchanges.
    • For 20 years, local and regional planners have called for the South Fraser Perimeter Road.
  • Pitt River Bridge/ Mary Hill Interchange Project: The project involves building a new seven-lane high level bridge across the Pitt River, replacing the two existing swing bridges, and a new interchange at the Lougheed Highway and the Mary Hill Interchange. Construction started in February 2007. Completion is slated for late 2009.
    • The design includes a separated pedestrian and bicycle pathway across the bridge, and the bridge will be engineered to accommodate mass transit at a later date.  
    • The Pitt River Bridge and Mary Hill Interchange will eliminate bottlenecks that have seen volume grow from 27,000 to 88,000 vehicles per day between 1985 and 2007.

For More Information:
The Gateway Program