[Acura604]

so who drove on it today??? I just wanna plan a road trip on the weekend to drive on it before they begin charging tolls on it.

looks cool but what the heck is there to do in Pitt Meadows?

http://www.pittmeadows.bc.ca/assets/Works~Yard/New%20Website%20Picture%20GEB.jpg

[smoothie.]

autowerkes exclusive, to go buy your polishes

[Roach]

Or autocross events.

In reality, this will be huge for many of the people who commute between Coquitlam/Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows/Mission to Langley/Surrey/Delta.

Hopefully this will alleviate traffic on the Port Mann. And if the Port Mann is effed up this presents a viable option to come around for us folks in the Fraser Valley.

Kev

[too_slow]

I'm guessing this bridge will not appear on my GPS.. Hmmm..

[shenmecar]

^
I guess if you drive on it, it will think you drive an amphibious car!

[The_AK]

^
I guess if you drive on it, it will think you drive an amphibious car!

"Warning! Warning! You are in Fraser River"

[drunkrussian]

"Warning! Warning! You are in Fraser River"


hahahahahha

[jlenko]

Probably a good idea to steer clear of that area for a while... let the drivers get used to the new interchanges and stuff. I imagine there's going to be a few more accidents today than usual...

looks cool but what the heck is there to do in Pitt Meadows?

Before the bridge was open, I could say "sit in traffic" but hopefully this will finally relieve some of it.

[boatcaptain]

looks pretty

[TOPEC]

should plan a drive through the golden ears bridge, then come back using the albion ferry since its most likely closing down by july 31.

[!Yaminashi]

Damn I dont wanna pay money to go spend more money at Ken's shop

[Lomac]

I walked across it on Sunday. :D Cool bridge, especially when you're able to see it all up close.

[jlenko]

I was thinking about that... is there nothing better to do in Metro Vancouver than go check out a bridge? I mean... seriously..

We are the no-fun city..

[The_AK]

I was thinking about that... is there nothing better to do in Metro Vancouver than go check out a bridge? I mean... seriously..

We are the no-fun city..

You could take pictures of it?
You could go to the office that designed it and ask for blueprints for further analysis of it?
You could drive across it?
Or be very cool and street race across it 2 in the morning on Wednesday?

[wasabisashimi]

how much is toll? is it worth paying toll than taking a longer detour

[q0192837465]

lol, it's still too far away from where I usually hang out

[originalhypa]

I'm on one side of the bridge, while one of my biggest customers is on the other.
In fact, I just got back. The bridge is bumpy, like a US highway made of concrete slabs and expansion joints. But it saved me an hour an a half there and back, so I'll put up with some bumps.

Watch for radar.
My x50 was going nuts this morning.

[TOPEC]

how much is toll? is it worth paying toll than taking a longer detour

$4.XX for normal
$2.XX if u have monthly pass

i "might" be wrong tho but thats all i can remember

[Rich Sandor]

It totally does aboslutely nothing for me, except help reduce hwy1 traffic for the few times I'm going out that way. I'll find out on Monday night when I'm coming back to Kits from Mission at around 6pm if it's made any difference at all.

[Rich Sandor]

one of the reasons your radar detectors might be going off is that *i think* the licence plate readers use radar to activate the camera that sends you the bill. I might be wrong but I think that's one reason. I know there are also some plainclothes cops driving corvettes in that area, so don't be stupid.

[alex.w *//]

well theres a lot of car dealerships in maple ridge

[Roach]

There was actually a large police presence there this morning.

Kev

[Lowered_Klass]

one of the reasons your radar detectors might be going off is that *i think* the licence plate readers use radar to activate the camera that sends you the bill. I might be wrong but I think that's one reason. I know there are also some plainclothes cops driving corvettes in that area, so don't be stupid.

Apparently the bridge deck is 80km/h but once you're off the bridge, doesn't matter which side, the speed drops to 50 or 60km/h. So you know this is gonna be a popular spot for the RCMP.

[Soundy]

Well, we went and walked it on Sunday... very impressive. Tracked it on my GPS and attached a ton of photos. http://gpsed.com/track/5372892533581876152

It's gonna be fantastic for my wife, since we live in Pitt Meadows and she works in downtown Langley. Until now, her commute has been around 40km and took her over an hour each way. With the new bridge, the distance drops to 15-16km and should take her barely 20 minutes (we don't know for sure yet, because we're out of town on vacation all this week, but we've guessed this based on times to get to each side of the bridge).

Tolls will be $3.90 if you haven't registered your plate... $3.30 if you do. The transponder is a $10 refundable "deposit", $1/month "lease", and with it the toll is $2.75.

Registering or using the transponder also gives you the option of setting up an "pre-loaded" account that deducts whenever you use it, starting at a $40 balance, and when it gets down to $10, it can automatically refill from a credit card or checking account... or you just get a monthly bill.

[elkayem]

"Warning! Warning! You are in Fraser River"

^
I guess if you drive on it, it will think you drive an amphibious car!

"We are sinking! We are sinking!!!"

Reminds me of this. LOL
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GT86iWiH2mI

[Harvey Specter]

Well, we went and walked it on Sunday... very impressive. Tracked it on my GPS and attached a ton of photos. http://gpsed.com/track/5372892533581876152


Nice site.

I really want to check out this bridge but.....i've never been to Pitt Meadows or the area where the bridge is and I was born here, lol.

[danned]

yayay going sooooooooooooooooooooon
before stupid feees

[jlenko]

Tolls will be $3.90 if you haven't registered your plate... $3.30 if you do. The transponder is a $10 refundable "deposit", $1/month "lease", and with it the toll is $2.75.

And the link to register your plate at is: www.quickpasstolling.ca

Better to pre-register and never need it... cheaper than forgetting to register and needing to use the bridge to get around a jumper on the Port Mann...

[Roach]

I just went over it tonight. I'd recommend going at night as the bridge is lit up beautifully.

Honestly, I had no idea the project was this large. I was just expecting a bridge over a river. However, the whole highways project including the route to Highway 1 from the bridge on the Langley side, the multiple exits into Pitt Meadows and Maple Ridge, as well as the entire revamp of the 176 corridor and 200st is mind blowing. My hats off to Ministry of Transportation for such an impressive and well done project.

Kev

[RE-Jo]

Now we just need a bridge between Knight and Queensborough~

[BNR32_Coupe]

Apparently the bridge deck is 80km/h but once you're off the bridge, doesn't matter which side, the speed drops to 50 or 60km/h. So you know this is gonna be a popular spot for the RCMP.

thats with a lot of bridges in BC.... :facepalm:

[wasabisashimi]

Tolls will be $3.90 if you haven't registered your plate... $3.30 if you do. The transponder is a $10 refundable "deposit", $1/month "lease", and with it the toll is $2.75.

Registering or using the transponder also gives you the option of setting up an "pre-loaded" account that deducts whenever you use it, starting at a $40 balance, and when it gets down to $10, it can automatically refill from a credit card or checking account... or you just get a monthly bill.

What happens if I am neither registered or have a transponder installed? Is there a toll booth? How do they eliminate "stop and go" traffic as cars stops to pay toll? Sorry if my question is not worded properly.

If someone has transponder, do they have to "stop and go" thru a gate or something?

[jlenko]

There are no gates... it's all done with cameras.

/me waits for someone to run the cameras with fake plates or somehow hidden plates...

[wasabisashimi]

must be some special camera, cant imagine trying to track multiple lanes of cars

[Manic!]

There are no gates... it's all done with cameras.

/me waits for someone to run the cameras with fake plates or somehow hidden plates...

Like this:
http://www.thehoffmangroup.com/autoloc/product.lasso?prodinc=hiddenlicense

[jimzilla]

went across it last night to grab some food on the langley side, pretty neat bridge indeed

[BNR32_Coupe]

must be some special camera, cant imagine trying to track multiple lanes of cars

the technology is actually fairly old. the RCMP has these camera's installed on their cruisers to run plates of every single car they pass by, even on-coming traffic. they can scan entire parking lots just by driving by cars

[Soundy]

What happens if I am neither registered or have a transponder installed? Is there a toll booth? How do they eliminate "stop and go" traffic as cars stops to pay toll? Sorry if my question is not worded properly.

If someone has transponder, do they have to "stop and go" thru a gate or something?

No gates, no booths. Banks of receivers (for the transponders) and multiple cameras to view both front and rear plates, spanning both directions on the bridge. They read the cars as they go through at full speed.

This is at the north end, but I'd expect the south end to have a similar setup:

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_8W57ombPl6k/SjYXERPlwPI/AAAAAAAAGmY/h6PfIppkCAg/s800/IMG_0655.JPG

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_8W57ombPl6k/SjYXFP5eajI/AAAAAAAAGmg/xyqKQbotf8I/s800/IMG_0656.JPG

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_8W57ombPl6k/SjYXF0xpKDI/AAAAAAAAGmo/LKFqP8_9zeY/s800/IMG_0660.JPG

At the top edge of this pic, you can see the transponder pickups for the northbound lanes:

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_8W57ombPl6k/SjYV-X_Jc9I/AAAAAAAAGdY/NaAOEtUBpiI/s800/IMG_0526.JPG

The complete transponder/camera structure can be seen here under the flags hanging from the crane:

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_8W57ombPl6k/SjYV7GJp87I/AAAAAAAAGdA/PLZVaVa2pzE/s800/IMG_0522.JPG

[ecsw]

http://www.translink.ca/en/Driving/Golden-Ears-Bridge/About-Quickpass/Tolls-and-Fees.aspx

Car with OBU $2.75, Registered, $3.30, nothing, $3.90
Bike with OBU NA, Registered, $1.40, nothing, $2.50

Pretty expensive for cars without anything.

Toll is for EACH DIRECTION. So, with bike going north and come back without registration, $5.0 round trip. Car without registration, $7.8 round trip.

https://csc.getquickpass.ca/Public/FAQ.aspx#A03

I will just use Port Mann for the price until 2013. :p

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20090204/bc_port_mann_090204?hub=BritishColumbiaHome

When Port Mann goes $3+ each way on toll, I will start using Pattullo Bridge. :p

[2damaxmr2]

fuck i need this bridge to go to the range.

[Great68]

http://www.translink.ca/en/Driving/Golden-Ears-Bridge/About-Quickpass/Tolls-and-Fees.aspx

Car with OBU $2.75, Registered, $3.30, nothing, $3.90
Bike with OBU NA, Registered, $1.40, nothing, $2.50

Pretty expensive for cars without anything.

Toll is for EACH DIRECTION. So, with bike going north and come back without registration, $5.0 round trip. Car without registration, $7.8 round trip.

https://csc.getquickpass.ca/Public/FAQ.aspx#A03

I will just use Port Mann for the price until 2013. :p

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20090204/bc_port_mann_090204?hub=BritishColumbiaHome

When Port Mann goes $3+ each way on toll, I will start using Pattullo Bridge. :p


Hmm...

Depending on what car you drive, you can drive pretty far on $8 of gas.

[ninjatune]

So how do you pay if you are just driving through for the first time?

[StylinRed]

its free for the first month


Longest bridge of this type (cant remember what they call it, suspension?) in North America

[DC5-S]

i walked on the bridge today.. and by the cement mill in the water, there is a whole bunch of car shells lined up.. there all in the water and they look old and rusted,.. i wonder if there is any vintage cars in there.. they must have been in the water for a LONG time, judging by the growth of trees around them.

[penner2k]

Hmm...

Depending on what car you drive, you can drive pretty far on $8 of gas.

For me its not even a money issue. Its a time issue.

[BNR32_Coupe]

For me its not even a money issue. Its a time issue.

exactly! somebody's thinking here ^

people that are saying this bridge isnt worth it, how much do you make at your job? lets say you're making salary at a measily $40,000 a year. that's roughly $20/hr. how much time could you save from using this bridge? you'd have to wake up maybe an hour, hour and a half earlier than you'd have to if you had the golden ears bridge. with this bridge, if you're saving 1 hour, you're earning $11 from taking it, since the cost of the bridge $8 is offset by your time saved $20/hr.

actually you save more than $20 in time/wages since i only counted waking up and going to work in my example

[jlenko]

For me it's a time issue, for sure. Not that I'm taking the new bridge (I live in Burnaby, work in Surrey)... but it should help alleviate some of the traffic I have to sit in when I travel over the Port Mann, or if I have to drive to Port Coquitlam, help clear up some of the traffic headed to the Pitt River bridge.

But.. it's good to know that there's finally another option for me, should I need to travel that way. Traffic with the Pitt River bridge under construction has been horrendous!!

[inkcognito]

went on it yesturday. it looks nice at night, just a little bumpy.
and it does show on the GPS!

[ecsw]

Hmm...

Depending on what car you drive, you can drive pretty far on $8 of gas.

lol. well, I said that because I live between Port Mann and the new bridge. 10 minutes away from Pattullo. So either bridge is fine with me. :)
My work is in Langley, I don't need to use any of those bridges until the weekend.

[!SG]

nice bridge.

so from my understanding (which isnt all that considering i get lost all the time going towards surrey)

the enterance on the langely side is the 200st exit, while the exit on the langley side is around the 176st exit

the enterance and exit on the pitt meadows/maple ridge side is pretty much the same.

[Lomac]

The entrance is 200th (well, 201st), whereas the exits are both 200th and 176th. It just depends if you want to go East or West, though in all actuality, you can take either exit for both directions.

I believe there's one more entrance as well, but I'm not sure what street it is. 198th, maybe?

[lilaznviper]

hm... planing to drive on it to get to langely next week... now how do i get onto the bridge??
google map failed me this time haha
no update FTL

[!SG]

you trying to get on from the pittmeadows/maple ridge side?

the enterance is off lougheed hwy near the cinplex odeon/superstore strip mall. you cant miss it, its a huge on ramp!

[ecsw]

The entrance is 200th (well, 201st), whereas the exits are both 200th and 176th. It just depends if you want to go East or West, though in all actuality, you can take either exit for both directions.

I believe there's one more entrance as well, but I'm not sure what street it is. 198th, maybe?

no, 198th is the exit.

another entrance is at the end of 96th Ave between 184 and 186 St.

[Lowered_Klass]

I took it home today, and it's a sweet bridge. Very impressed. I live in Pitt Meadows, and work in Coquitlam, so this was purely for shits and giggles. Until I saw how fast I got home. I work close to Ikea, and I made it home in 22min. I got on 'Golden Ears Way' at 176st and didn't speed... that much. :D Fuck sitting in Mary Hill bypass traffic and Pitt bridge construction. It's nice to know I have another option.

[!SG]

once the new pitt meadows bridge is finished, it should help a little as well.

I took it home today, and it's a sweet bridge. Very impressed. I live in Pitt Meadows, and work in Coquitlam, so this was purely for shits and giggles. Until I saw how fast I got home. I work close to Ikea, and I made it home in 22min. I got on 'Golden Ears Way' at 176st and didn't speed... that much. :D Fuck sitting in Mary Hill bypass traffic and Pitt bridge construction. It's nice to know I have another option.

[Lowered_Klass]

Oh for sure. Traffic has been better lately, but I suspect some of that has to do with school wrapping up for the summer. The real test will come in Sept.

[KaOsTiK]

once the new pitt meadows bridge is finished, it should help a little as well.

hopefully...i waiting for the construction to clear up by the MH bypass and lougheed

[Soundy]

So how do you pay if you are just driving through for the first time?

its free for the first month

They snap your license plate and mail you the bill, obviously to the mailing address of that plate's RO.

There is absolutely NO reason for every LM resident NOT to register their plate for this - it saves you 60c per crossing, and it costs nothing to register. Even if you don't PLAN on ever taking it, there may come a time when you NEED to, so why not be prepared for that?

For me its not even a money issue. Its a time issue.

exactly! somebody's thinking here ^

people that are saying this bridge isnt worth it, how much do you make at your job? lets say you're making salary at a measily $40,000 a year. that's roughly $20/hr. how much time could you save from using this bridge? you'd have to wake up maybe an hour, hour and a half earlier than you'd have to if you had the golden ears bridge. with this bridge, if you're saving 1 hour, you're earning $11 from taking it, since the cost of the bridge $8 is offset by your time saved $20/hr.

actually you save more than $20 in time/wages since i only counted waking up and going to work in my example

As I noted further up in the thread, my wife commutes Pitt Meadows - Downtown Langley for work, a route that Google Maps shows as 37km. Her trip on that route is 45 minutes to an hour in the morning (affected mostly by the Mary Hill and Cape Horn backups), and usually an hour or more coming home.

She's found it takes her only 10 minutes to get from work to the south end of the bridge; it should be no more than another 10 to get home from there. So she's reducing her commute time to ONE THIRD. EVERY day. The new route, approximated on Google Maps, should run 15-16km, so she's also cutting the distance to nearly 1/3 as well... and it's not just gas, but all the other wear-and-tear on the vehicle.

And of course, there's just the reduced stress of sitting in all that f'n Port Mann and Mary Hill traffic every day.

For me it's a time issue, for sure. Not that I'm taking the new bridge (I live in Burnaby, work in Surrey)... but it should help alleviate some of the traffic I have to sit in when I travel over the Port Mann, or if I have to drive to Port Coquitlam, help clear up some of the traffic headed to the Pitt River bridge.

But.. it's good to know that there's finally another option for me, should I need to travel that way. Traffic with the Pitt River bridge under construction has been horrendous!!

I took it home today, and it's a sweet bridge. Very impressed. I live in Pitt Meadows, and work in Coquitlam, so this was purely for shits and giggles. Until I saw how fast I got home. I work close to Ikea, and I made it home in 22min. I got on 'Golden Ears Way' at 176st and didn't speed... that much. :D Fuck sitting in Mary Hill bypass traffic and Pitt bridge construction. It's nice to know I have another option.

once the new pitt meadows bridge is finished, it should help a little as well.

I'm really looking forward to that one too, since I'm all over the LM for work. I've seen a few "opponents" of the new bridge dissing it now, saying look, there's not that much traffic using the new bridge, and the Port Mann is just as bad as ever... yeah, because a lot of the traffic it's going to divert is also waiting for the Pitt River bridge to be done, otherwise they're just trading one traffic mess for another.

[Eternal_SiR]

bridge definately will help alot of people.. Officially walked the bridge on sunday.. but i've been on the bridge deck a million times before it was open to the public. I worked on all the steel rail design and fabrication on this bridge. 1.5 years to finish this project... but definatly something i'm proud of.. to be able to see my work.

[ecsw]

bridge definately will help alot of people.. Officially walked the bridge on sunday.. but i've been on the bridge deck a million times before it was open to the public. I worked on all the steel rail design and fabrication on this bridge. 1.5 years to finish this project... but definatly something i'm proud of.. to be able to see my work.

next project - PortMann? :)

[Soundy]

bridge definately will help alot of people.. Officially walked the bridge on sunday.. but i've been on the bridge deck a million times before it was open to the public. I worked on all the steel rail design and fabrication on this bridge. 1.5 years to finish this project... but definatly something i'm proud of.. to be able to see my work.

Now I'm scared... :haha:

[Klutch]

this bridge is scary looking.....i was at the bottle depot throwin away tvs, and i saw this bridge outta nowhere i had no idea wtf it was, never herd anythin about it. it was all empty, freaked me out and its massive! :eek:

[TRDood]

so how do i get there?
can someone draw me a map... :p
better yet, a good cruising map =D

i am going from east vancouver. haha

[Soundy]

Head out Hwy. 1, once you get into Surrey, look for the signs - they'll say something like "Golden Ears Bridge - Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows"

Pretty easy from there. Exit at 200st., go northbound, follow it past Colossus and the road kinda carves to the right, turns into 201, and takes you straight on the bridge.

Or going out through Tri-Cities, take Lougheed across the Pitt Bridge, follow it on out until you see the shopping complex with the Cineplex and Superstore... the onramp is right there.

Well, coming back from Whistler today, we decided to take our first drive over the bridge... went over the freeway, it was backed up to shit, so we exited at 160th and took the back roads to get onto Golden Ears Way at 96th Ave. We checked the clock just as we were going onto the bridge, and again when we got home... a shade under 10 minutes. And that was going the SLOW way - took the Airport Rd. exit, nearly got creamed by some asshole who came flying into the roundabout when he should have yielded... then got stuck behind him as he crawled across the overpass and through the next roundabout... finally got to Harris and Hammond, and proceeded to catch every single red light going up Harris (fortunately, we missed a train by about 30 seconds).

So, given that it takes the wife about 10 minutes or less to get from work to 200th & 96th... her commute should EASILY be down to <20 minutes from over an hour.

[ecsw]

The entrance is 200th (well, 201st), whereas the exits are both 200th and 176th. It just depends if you want to go East or West, though in all actuality, you can take either exit for both directions.

I believe there's one more entrance as well, but I'm not sure what street it is. 198th, maybe?

I finally cross the bridge today after work (My office is next to the bridge).

I think I finally understand what you are saying. There's an extra entrance at 192 st. So total of 4 entrance from Surrey/Langley.

[StylinRed]

drove on it today, its pretty impressive but seems so short too... guess we were all going a little too fast



when i came back tho i used the pitt river bridge.... and it was backed up even at 7pm took me 30mins to finally get across -_- guess more ppl are using the golden ears bridge to head home

[Soundy]

I finally cross the bridge today after work (My office is next to the bridge).

I think I finally understand what you are saying. There's an extra entrance at 192 st. So total of 4 entrance from Surrey/Langley.

As part of the Gateway Project / South Fraser Perimeter Road, Golden Ears Way now connects to 96th Ave. at 176 St. You can exit at 176 southbound, go left at 96th, and that will put you right onto Golden Ears Way and straight onto the bridge. After you go under the freeway, there's a little connector to Barnston Drive and the other part of 96th Ave.

[DC5-S]

what if you were to use hairspray on your licence plate.. i head that on manswers that it can fool some cameras

[Soundy]

Mythbusters >>> Manswers.

(Edit: Kari >>> Manswers bimbos)

[danned]

at 96th Ave,and 176st

when i take 176st exit from the highway
there is a intersection 176st and 96th ave
can i turn left on 96th ave from 176st?

saw in the goldenearsbridge website
like there is no access from going to the bridge? i'm not sure

[Hondaracer]

drove it yesterday, very nice bridge and the round abouts on the pitt meadows side are setup nicely

the eagles on the end pillars are cool too

[Soundy]

at 96th Ave,and 176st

when i take 176st exit from the highway
there is a intersection 176st and 96th ave
can i turn left on 96th ave from 176st?

On the south side of the highway, yes - 96 then becomes Golden Ears Way and takes you straight to the bridge.

On the north side, take the connector to the rest of 96 Ave eastbound., aka Barnston Drive, and immediately after the overpass over Golden Ears Way, there's a left turn to the 96 Ave. Connector, that will link you to GEW.

From the freeway eastbound, you can also exit at 192nd st., which forces you to turn left on 192, and that will also take you to GEW.

saw in the goldenearsbridge website
like there is no access from going to the bridge? i'm not sure

Um, wat?

[danned]

thx soundy, i think i get it....
coz i want to drive from 96ave to feel the highway
::D:::D:D::D::D::::D

[Eternal_SiR]

next project - PortMann? :)

YOU GOT IT, JUST FINISHED SEA TO SKY, WORKING ON PORT MANN ALREADY, PITT RIVER, SOUTH FRASER EXPANSION, COAST MERIDIAN.. WE BASICALLY DO ABOUT 95% OF THE BIG GOVERMENT JOBS

[Eternal_SiR]

Now I'm scared... :haha:

HAHAH THEN YOU SHOULDN'T DRIVE THEN.. I'VE DONE WORK FOR PRETTY MUCH ALL THE MAJOR ARTERIES IN BC

[Soundy]

YOU GOT IT, JUST FINISHED SEA TO SKY, WORKING ON PORT MANN ALREADY, PITT RIVER, SOUTH FRASER EXPANSION, COAST MERIDIAN.. WE BASICALLY DO ABOUT 95% OF THE BIG GOVERMENT JOBS

Yeah, think you could pick up the pace a bit on the Pitt Bridge then? Major headache there...

[Lowered_Klass]

when i came back tho i used the pitt river bridge.... and it was backed up even at 7pm took me 30mins to finally get across -_- guess more ppl are using the golden ears bridge to head home


Nope, that's pretty much the norm. It was like that before the new bridge opened up. Sometimes it takes forever to get into Poco/Coquitlam, and if there was a huge sail wait at the Albion, you're fucked. It's so nice to have that other option now.

[Soundy]

Well, if anyone wasn't sure about the value of the new bridge and the $5.50/day (with transponder) in tolls... my wife has just completed, as of Friday, her first full week of taking it to work, from Pitt Meadows to Langley...

Her 37km commute before, via slow stop-and-go traffic on the Mary Hill Bypass and approaching the Port Mann Bridge, was eating up on the order of 1/4 tank of gas *per day* ('08 Jeep Patriot, 2.4l 4-cyl., 50l tank), and taking an average of an hour each way.

This past week, the 16km commute, with very little stop-and-go, took her less than 20 minutes each way, on average... and burned up a quarter tank of gas... *FOR THE WHOLE WEEK*.

So let's see... rough numbers, assume 12l of gas per quarter tank... at $1.10/l... that's $13.10 *per day* before, or $65.50/week. Now it's $13.10 *per week*. Tolls, when they start, will be $27.50/week... total of about $40.60.

So yeah, I'd say that's worth it. And that doesn't even include the time savings (3-1/3 hours per week, vs. 10!) and the reduced stress.

[shenmecar]

RS cruise anyone? 2 more weeks left before tolls!

I drove on it last week, it was pretty nice at night. Got a wangan feel to it.

[ws6ta]

bridge has hardly any traffic and its smooth and long. easily hit 300 km/h

[Gumby]

So yeah, I'd say that's worth it. And that doesn't even include the time savings (3-1/3 hours per week, vs. 10!) and the reduced stress.
And you can't put a price tag on stress. :)

[saveth]

bridge has hardly any traffic and its smooth and long. easily hit 300 km/h

I've crossed the bridge a couple times already and its not smooth at all. I think its actually the bumpiest fraser river crossing. It reminds of of I-5 after peace arch/pac hwy crossing.

[hk20000]

But it's surprisingly long and Asian looking....like how those flyovers just criss cross on both ends of the bridge.

[ws6ta]

I've crossed the bridge a couple times already and its not smooth at all. I think its actually the bumpiest fraser river crossing. It reminds of of I-5 after peace arch/pac hwy crossing.

maybe the bentley smooths it out then :D

[shenmecar]

maybe the bentley smooths it out then :D

:Orly:

[fa1civic]

bridge has hardly any traffic and its smooth and long. easily hit 300 km/h

uhh wouldnt do that if i were u..... popos everywhere in their ghost cars and speed limit is only 60ish sigh!

[Anjew]

there are markers on the roads that say 60 and there are also white cross lines that mark your location on the road so when a camera sees you they can judge how far you have driven in a given time based on your location on the road.

[ws6ta]

there are markers on the roads that say 60 and there are also white cross lines that mark your location on the road so when a camera sees you they can judge how far you have driven in a given time based on your location on the road.

WHAT? are you serious? are they mailing out tickets????

[Rich Sandor]

The bridge is definately not smooth, at least, not as smooth as it could be. I just drove it both ways about 30 min ago.