bc-commits-$2.65-billion-for-hwy-1-widening-project-between-langley-and-abbotsford
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B.C. commits $2.65 billion for Hwy 1 widening project between Langley and Abbotsford

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The project was originally slated to be completed by 2026

The Trans-Canada widening project — a 2020 NDP campaign promise — has been delayed, much to the frustration of commuters often stuck in traffic jams and businesses clamouring for an improved corridor for the estimated $65 million of goods transported every year. Photo by Francis Georgian /PNG
The B.C. government has announced $2.65 billion in funding to widen and improve Highway 1 in the Fraser Valley in order to reduce traffic congestion and cut commute times between Langley and Abbotsford.

The Trans-Canada widening project — a 2020 NDP campaign promise — has been delayed, much to the frustration of commuters often stuck in traffic jams and businesses clamouring for an improved corridor for the estimated $65 million of goods transported every year. Most of Abbotsford will be served by the widened freeway.

Premier David Eby acknowledged the delays and cost increases for the project, which was originally slated to go to Whatcom Road and be completed by 2026.

He said flooding at the Sumas Prairie in 2021, global inflation, and the increase in volume on the highway has made the project challenging.

“I feel the frustration of everybody who sits in traffic who wants to get this road open as quickly as possible,” he said Wednesday. “That’s what I want too.”

He said the expanded and improved highway will help residents of the fast-growing Fraser Valley region by cutting commutes by car and transit, and help improve the shipment of goods.

The widening project spans 21 kilometres of Hwy. 1 between the 264th Street interchange and Highway 11, or the Sumas Way exit, in Abbotsford. It has been broken up into two sections.

Last fall, the province announced $2.34 billion in funding for upgrades for the first section, the 13-kilometre stretch between 264th Street and Mount Lehman Road in Abbotsford. Construction will start this year and is expected to be completed in 2029.

The announcement commits the province to funding the remaining eight-kilometre stretch from Mount Lehman Road to Highway 11. The ministry said procurement for this stage will begin in 2025, with construction starting the year after and completion slated for 2031.

The project will be expanded to include Whatcom Road in Abbotsford through the Sumas Prairie toward Chilliwack. The province has not announced funding or a start or completion date for this phase.

In addition to widening the highway, the government plans to rebuild overpasses at Peardonville Road, Bradner Road, and the CPKC rail overhead to improve height clearance for commercial trucks, said the ministry. A new crossing at Glover Road has been completed.

New interchanges will be built at 232nd and 264th streets in Langley and on Mount Lehman Road and Highway 11 in Abbotsford as part of the project. These interchanges will include HOV lanes and bus-on-shoulder lanes.

More than 80,000 drivers use the highway between Langley and Abbotsford and through the Sumas Prairie to Chilliwack daily, says the ministry.

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