[GabAlmighty]

Man i been doing that since the beginning ;)

[MG1]

I can't do it if I wanted to. I don't cross at the right time. Too early in the morning.

[dangonay]

I was always wondering how they're going to take down the main span of the old bridge. Taking it apart piece by piece would be very difficult and dropping it into the water with explosives risky as it's so close to the new bridge.

Driving by today I spotted something interesting. They have attached plates to the top of the main span arch with mounts for a shackle/ pin. I think they're going to lift the while damn span off in one go, maybe using one of those huge barge cranes. Unless anyone else knows (or can think of) why they have attached what appear to be lifting points.
Posted via RS Mobile

[hchang]

I was always wondering how they're going to take down the main span of the old bridge. Taking it apart piece by piece would be very difficult and dropping it into the water with explosives risky as it's so close to the new bridge.

Driving by today I spotted something interesting. They have attached plates to the top of the main span arch with mounts for a shackle/ pin. I think they're going to lift the while damn span off in one go, maybe using one of those huge barge cranes. Unless anyone else knows (or can think of) why they have attached what appear to be lifting points.
Posted via RS Mobile

Take this with a grain of salt since I don't know how much truth there is in this rumour, but I heard that there's actually train or sky train tracks built onto the Port Mann bridge and they just haven't told the public about it yet. Would be interesting to see. Wonder if its possibly built onto new bridge? Or maybe keeping the old bridge? Or is that confirmed that it will be removed?

Saw some unknown boards or tracks or something on the old Port Mann bridge, if you look at the old bridge going down Johnson Hill westbound.
Posted via RS Mobile

[sdubfid]

Take this with a grain of salt since I don't know how much truth there is in this rumour, but I heard that there's actually train or sky train tracks built onto the Port Mann bridge and they just haven't told the public about it yet. Would be interesting to see. Wonder if its possibly built onto new bridge? Or maybe keeping the old bridge? Or is that confirmed that it will be removed?

Saw some unknown boards or tracks or something on the old Port Mann bridge, if you look at the old bridge going down Johnson Hill westbound.
Posted via RS Mobile

No way its true, would make too much sense to run skytrain/westcoast express ground level down highway 1 median. They need an excuse to tear everything up in a few years when it could have been done for pennies on the dollar the first time around.

[Gridlock]

Take this with a grain of salt since I don't know how much truth there is in this rumour, but I heard that there's actually train or sky train tracks built onto the Port Mann bridge and they just haven't told the public about it yet. Would be interesting to see. Wonder if its possibly built onto new bridge? Or maybe keeping the old bridge? Or is that confirmed that it will be removed?

Saw some unknown boards or tracks or something on the old Port Mann bridge, if you look at the old bridge going down Johnson Hill westbound.
Posted via RS Mobile

On the new one? They put the structure in place for it to have transit on the bridge if its ever needed in the future.

I personally can't see putting a train down the middle of the #1 myself, so it seems to me to be something to shut people up about lack of planning and such.

It makes sense to have cars on the highway, not trains.

[Soundy]

Or maybe keeping the old bridge? Or is that confirmed that it will be removed?
The approach span on the Coquitlam side is already gone, and the Surrey side is being disassembled now. There are two more lanes of the new bridge that will overlap the approaches on the old bridge, so it HAS to come down.

[Lomac]

On the new one? They put the structure in place for it to have transit on the bridge if its ever needed in the future.

I personally can't see putting a train down the middle of the #1 myself, so it seems to me to be something to shut people up about lack of planning and such.

It makes sense to have cars on the highway, not trains.

Well they may not run the Skytrain tracks all down the highway, but it may veer onto the highway right before the new Port Mann in order to avoid having to build yet another bridge crossing. That said, I thought the infrastructure put in place was for light rail, not a Skytrain system.

[meme405]

LOL

The old bridge is in a serious state of dis-repair. They did not spend a billion on a new bridge only to repair the old one for a skytrain system.

As others stated that old bridge has to come down for the new one to reach its full potential.

What we need to talk about here is how the highway is a complete cluster fuck. If I get one more rock kicked up into my windshield and front bumper I am going to freak out. Those huge asphalt grooves they leave unfinished are an absolute nightmare.

[Lomac]

You do realize the highway is still a construction zone, right? It's a waste of time, money, and man power to run a street sweeper every night to clear every last piece of rock off the road. Find a different route if you don't want to risk rock chips.

[tiger_handheld]

So there is a loophole... whoops, sorry, forgot this is revscene. :hotbaby:
So there is a lupole...










TReO can't stop drivers getting away with discounted tolls | News1130 (http://www.news1130.com/2013/05/06/treo-cant-stop-drivers-getting-away-with-discounted-tolls/)


SERIOUSLY? new like this should not be reported. WTF!!
Like what benefit does it give the public?

I've been doing this since the bridge opened, but now I will stop. Thanks retards!

[Hondaracer]

Kiewit is liable for damages and what not caused by excessive debris on the road from the construction like mis-pours into dump trucks etc. thats why you rarely see it because the degree that they clean up is pretty good

also of course any bridge like the new span is available for an upgrade in the future to support transit or additional volume. In taking apart the old span as far as i can tell they will probably just take it apart as they built the new span in seperate sections since they have that huge box crane on the coquitlam side of the old span now

As far as i'm concerned the highway project is a complete success even before total completion. Unless you travel the highway everyday and have been before the construction began then you probably dont have an accurate picture when you hop on the new highway and run into random lane closures etc and think "WTFFFF New Highway fail" its pretty amazing how well the traffic flows now. Consistently from the 156th on-ramp i can get to Canada Way/Willingdon in under 20 minutes and to Hastings/Renfrew in under 25, Way better.

[Soundy]

In taking apart the old span as far as i can tell they will probably just take it apart as they built the new span in seperate sections since they have that huge box crane on the coquitlam side of the old span now

They're currently pouring the supports for the two final lanes on the Coquitlam side, now that the old approach is gone on that end... once those are done they can continue assembling the deck.

[Lomac]

As far as i'm concerned the highway project is a complete success even before total completion. Unless you travel the highway everyday and have been before the construction began then you probably dont have an accurate picture when you hop on the new highway and run into random lane closures etc and think "WTFFFF New Highway fail" its pretty amazing how well the traffic flows now. Consistently from the 156th on-ramp i can get to Canada Way/Willingdon in under 20 minutes and to Hastings/Renfrew in under 25, Way better.

Yup. I can't speak about the highway any further east than Coquitlam but it's amazingly quick getting from Langley out to Coquitlam during rush hour now. It's almost like there's no rush hour anymore come 8am. Some of the new intersections are a little questionable but I feel overall it's already a great success.

http://stepsandleaps.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/borat_great_success.jpg

[melloman]

My only complaint because I know its still a construction zone is how they do the transitions from old road to new asphalt..

Some sections are a nice smooth transition, but at Westbound just after Grandview Hwy overpass they legit just cut the line with a 2x4 and I SLAM my wheels into it every fucking time. I even slow down to 60 and cause a fucking backup to try and not hit it as hard.

If I get a bent wheel.. I'll freak. :fuuuuu:

[Presto]

Yup. I can't speak about the highway any further east than Coquitlam but it's amazingly quick getting from Langley out to Coquitlam during rush hour now. It's almost like there's no rush hour anymore come 8am. Some of the new intersections are a little questionable but I feel overall it's already a great success.

Love it. I go to Coquitlam from Langley, quite regularly. Being able to get from my house to my parents' place in 20 min, at peak rush hour, is a fucking dream.

[MG1]

A couple of weeks ago, maybe even last week, there was a pretty bad accident on Hwy 1 eastbound early in the morning. I left early to avoid traffic, but it didn't matter. It was somewhere along the Bunaby Lake to Coquitlam stretch. Car on the HOV lane spun 180 degrees. Traffic was a crawl. As I drove by, I noticed a lot of rocks about the size of twoonies on the road. I guess the road wasn't cleaned up properly after overnight construction. Good thing I was going that slow, because at high speeds, it would have been hard to see. Driver must have hit the rocks and lost control.

The amount of dings and rock chip damage done to my car over the entire duration of construction is unbelievable. All part of the price we pay for progress, I guess. I need a level 10 force field around my car.

[Soundy]

A couple of weeks ago, maybe even last week, there was a pretty bad accident on Hwy 1 eastbound early in the morning. I left early to avoid traffic, but it didn't matter. It was somewhere along the Bunaby Lake to Coquitlam stretch. Car on the HOV lane spun 180 degrees. Traffic was a crawl. As I drove by, I noticed a lot of rocks about the size of twoonies on the road. I guess the road wasn't cleaned up properly after overnight construction. Good thing I was going that slow, because at high speeds, it would have been hard to see. Driver must have hit the rocks and lost control.
Of course, you don't know if those rocks are construction debris, either, or if they came from somewhere else... say, pickup loaded with gravel hit a bump and dumped crush all over the road.

I mean, if they were there all morning, and they were THAT hazardous, you'd think there'd be a lot more than just this one car spun out on them...

[MG1]

^not all people react the same way. Perhaps this driver plain freaked out. I've seen people freak out over less. If it were me, I'd dodge them all and keep it under control...... I'm that good, LOL.

[meme405]

You do realize the highway is still a construction zone, right? It's a waste of time, money, and man power to run a street sweeper every night to clear every last piece of rock off the road. Find a different route if you don't want to risk rock chips.

Leave it to RS to fail me for pointing out what everyone else would appreciate. There have been countless highway projects like this previously and there have never been retarded deviations in surfaces like this. I drive the 97 & 97C corridors 50+ times a year, and I drove through the systematic repaving of almost 80% of the 97C highway, and never had any problems like the ones I see the #1.

Kiewit made a lot of mistakes on this project, the repaving of the entire length of highway is the single largest budget impact aside from that massive accident they had with the piece of the bridge that fell down (also related directly to Kiewit's poor management, I have more information that is not publicly avaliable on why that accident happened).

I dont know why I even bother coming back since I'll just get more fails.

[Lomac]

I live in the Interior, right off of 97b actually, so I know what you mean. I drive through the post-winter road repairs all the time, as well as all the widening they've been doing over the past few years. I think the main difference between these repairs and the Hwy1 project is up here that they can shut down half the road all day and not worry about traffic backing up too much, whereas on Hwy1 it because a gigantic clusterfuck if they work during the daytime, so they relegate most of the actual road work to night time. They may not have the time in order to properly clean up. I also had the front of my car completely chipped from a dump truck heading to one of the Hwy1 project sites when it hit a bump and dumped a shit ton of gravel over the bucket edge. It's very possible a lot of the debris on the road are caused by similar situations as that.

[MG1]

I just wish they would make the transition from newly laid asphalt to old pavement a little smoother and not a sudden drop. On some parts of the road they've worked on, it is very smooth while in other parts, it's not.

[Soundy]

Leave it to RS to fail me for pointing out what everyone else would appreciate. There have been countless highway projects like this previously and there have never been retarded deviations in surfaces like this. I drive the 97 & 97C corridors 50+ times a year, and I drove through the systematic repaving of almost 80% of the 97C highway, and never had any problems like the ones I see the #1.
This is nothing like most other highway projects. This isn't a simple re-paving - they have to widen the road, a piece at a time, in some places adding overpasses, new ramps, water passages, and in general completely re-aligning most of the road, all while maintaining three working lanes each direction 15 hours of the day.

In most cases, this widening means creating new TEMPORARY lanes, shifting all the traffic over to it, ripping up old lanes, re-laying those, shifting PART of the traffic back over, re-doing the remaining old potions, THEN finally paving the whole lot as one smooth piece. Some areas, they've had to do the expansion of each direction separately because the lanes are at different levels. Some areas have required whole new overpasses to accommodate the width.

The new Cape Horn interchange alone has been a MASSIVE project of simultaneously re-aligning and inter-connecting three major routes, AND re-aligning operating rail lines in the process.

The logistics of the roadbuilding itself go beyond MOST other projects, and are further complicated by the need to KEEP THE TRAFFIC MOVING BETWEEN 5AM and 8PM EVERY DAY.

I dont know why I even bother coming back since I'll just get more fails.
I don't know why either, since you clearly are unable to see anything beyond your own car's bumper. Your statement, "there have been countless highway projects like this..." makes it obvious you have no understanding or appreciation of the sheer scope of the PMH1 project.

But by all means, do keep coming back, my FAIL button needs a good workout.

(And no, I don't work for Kiewit, the Province, or anyone else even remotely involved in this project... I'm just a tradesman who has to drive all over the Lower Mainland on a daily basis, has watched all this come together over the last three years or so, and greatly appreciates the improvements already seen, and those yet to come, all of which make my travel easier and less stressful, and my work day shorter.)

[melloman]

^^ I didn't know it was so hard to make a smooth transition. Considering all they'd have to do is thin out the asphalt at the end where the new asphalt ends. This requires 1 guy, with a rake, and then the roller goes over it.

:fulloffuck: Seems SOOOOOO hard.

They've done it at:
Westbound just after Kensington.
Westbound just after 1st ave
Westbound just before Cassiar Tunnel
Eastbound just after Ironworkers Bridge
Eastbound just after Cassiar Tunnel
Eastbound just after Willingdon

They do it in LOTS of places. Then the other times they just say "Fuck it I'm lazy, lets just get this done and lets get the fuck out of here."

Shitty transitions at:
Drop off just before Willingdon Westbound
Just after Grandview Hwy Overpass Westbound
Eastbound just before Kensington
Eastbound just before Gaglardi

[Hondaracer]

The "lets get it done and get out of here" mentality may come from the fact that they are not going to close MAJOR arteries for the morning commute? :/

You think adding that HOV off-ramp before gaglardi is as simple as a guy with a rake? Lol
Posted via RS Mobile

[El Bastardo]

Shitty transitions at:
Drop off just before Willingdon Westbound
Just after Grandview Hwy Overpass Westbound
Eastbound just before Kensington
Eastbound just before Gaglardi


Southbound to the Alex Fraser coming off the East/West Connector which is the most uninspiring highway name ever.
There is a curve before spaghetti junction forces six lanes into three and we all get on the bridge, right next to the New Westminster-branded digital billboard. I drove over that thing going 80km one night and thought I'd crack my wheels in half. Its not the main bridge but the smaller one going over the train tracks/Queensborough houses/etc.

[Soundy]

The "lets get it done and get out of here" mentality may come from the fact that they are not going to close MAJOR arteries for the morning commute? :/
:fuckthatshit: They shoulda just closed off Highway 1 and got'er dun. That shit woulda been finished in two weeks without having to cater to all the stupid commuters. :fullofwin:

[melloman]

The "lets get it done and get out of here" mentality may come from the fact that they are not going to close MAJOR arteries for the morning commute? :/

You think adding that HOV off-ramp before gaglardi is as simple as a guy with a rake? Lol
Posted via RS Mobile

I'm not saying full ramps man.. I'm just talking about the 2" difference in road surface between old pavement and new asphalt :fulloffuck:

Am I really that unclear here?!?!

[El Bastardo]

Am I really that unclear here?!?!

Yes. I, for one, would like you to call upon your artistic talents to draw us a diagram.

Please include an overhead map of the area as well as an elevation cutaway so we may understand further.

[radioman]

Please put X's and O's like they do on Sunday night football.

[Soundy]

I'm not saying full ramps man.. I'm just talking about the 2" difference in road surface between old pavement and new asphalt :fulloffuck:

Am I really that unclear here?!?!

Yeah, I think the point is, there's a lot more going on than worrying about a little bump in the pavement.

[eurochevy]

My only complaint because I know its still a construction zone is how they do the transitions from old road to new asphalt..

Some sections are a nice smooth transition, but at Westbound just after Grandview Hwy overpass they legit just cut the line with a 2x4 and I SLAM my wheels into it every fucking time. I even slow down to 60 and cause a fucking backup to try and not hit it as hard.

If I get a bent wheel.. I'll freak. :fuuuuu:

You know how you're saying you would freak? , guess who freaked last night at 2 am.... :fuuuuu: Dropped off my rim at Panther wheels today $125 to fix and ordering a tire online now because it split the tire about 2 inches right along the bead line right before the sidewall starts $250 later for 1 super sport with tirerack shave job later since I can't go with a brand new tire on AWD :okay:

http://youtu.be/TZ0z3lQo7ls

[fliptuner]

Yup, I've caught air on a shitty transition. Luckily, I was on my way back from aircare, so I had super tall tires on.

[Soundy]

BTW, new ramp from MHB westbound onto Lougheed westbound is now open! MASSIVE improvement!

[fliptuner]

The elevated part? I'll have to check it out tonight.

[MG1]

You know how you're saying you would freak? , guess who freaked last night at 2 am.... :fuuuuu: Dropped off my rim at Panther wheels today $125 to fix and ordering a tire online now because it split the tire about 2 inches right along the bead line right before the sidewall starts $250 later for 1 super sport with tirerack shave job later since I can't go with a brand new tire on AWD :okay:

Bad roadworks highway 1 burnaby - YouTube (http://youtu.be/TZ0z3lQo7ls)

What you doing driving so close to the shoulder? The only way I would run into that pothole is if I was distracted by a cute chick in a really tight blue dress prancing across the road.

[meme405]

This is nothing like most other highway projects. This isn't a simple re-paving - they have to widen the road, a piece at a time, in some places adding overpasses, new ramps, water passages, and in general completely re-aligning most of the road, all while maintaining three working lanes each direction 15 hours of the day.

In most cases, this widening means creating new TEMPORARY lanes, shifting all the traffic over to it, ripping up old lanes, re-laying those, shifting PART of the traffic back over, re-doing the remaining old potions, THEN finally paving the whole lot as one smooth piece. Some areas, they've had to do the expansion of each direction separately because the lanes are at different levels. Some areas have required whole new overpasses to accommodate the width.

The new Cape Horn interchange alone has been a MASSIVE project of simultaneously re-aligning and inter-connecting three major routes, AND re-aligning operating rail lines in the process.

The logistics of the roadbuilding itself go beyond MOST other projects, and are further complicated by the need to KEEP THE TRAFFIC MOVING BETWEEN 5AM and 8PM EVERY DAY.


I don't know why either, since you clearly are unable to see anything beyond your own car's bumper. Your statement, "there have been countless highway projects like this..." makes it obvious you have no understanding or appreciation of the sheer scope of the PMH1 project.

But by all means, do keep coming back, my FAIL button needs a good workout.

(And no, I don't work for Kiewit, the Province, or anyone else even remotely involved in this project... I'm just a tradesman who has to drive all over the Lower Mainland on a daily basis, has watched all this come together over the last three years or so, and greatly appreciates the improvements already seen, and those yet to come, all of which make my travel easier and less stressful, and my work day shorter.)

I am an engineer. I work for an industrial construction company who was the GC on a $1.5 billion copper and gold mine. Yes, I know absolutely nothing of construction, logistics, or big projects... But please do continue to explain to me how paving a fucking flat piece of land is so difficult compared to basically BUILDING AN ENTIRE FUCKING REFINERY IN THE MIDDLE OF BUTT FUCK NOWHERE.

Also the projects I referenced are mountain passes (97C) these are canyon routes (as in they twist and turn on a road that is carved into the side of a mountain with a sheer cliff on one side). For much of that project they added two lanes onto the existing roadway (as Lomac pointed out). This was probably far more complicated than paving a little more of the shoulder as they are doing on the #1.

I am not saying the highway is not going to be great once they are done, just that they could take a little care in making sure the way they leave the highway is in slightly better condition, and again I am not complaining about places where they might not have had a chance to finish something up overnight, and it was fixed the next day. I am talking about clear failures that have now been left for months unfixed.

^^ I didn't know it was so hard to make a smooth transition. Considering all they'd have to do is thin out the asphalt at the end where the new asphalt ends. This requires 1 guy, with a rake, and then the roller goes over it.

:fulloffuck: Seems SOOOOOO hard.

They've done it at:
Westbound just after Kensington.
Westbound just after 1st ave
Westbound just before Cassiar Tunnel
Eastbound just after Ironworkers Bridge
Eastbound just after Cassiar Tunnel
Eastbound just after Willingdon

They do it in LOTS of places. Then the other times they just say "Fuck it I'm lazy, lets just get this done and lets get the fuck out of here."

Shitty transitions at:
Drop off just before Willingdon Westbound
Just after Grandview Hwy Overpass Westbound
Eastbound just before Kensington
Eastbound just before Gaglardi

Thanks for re-affirming exactly what I mean, it would not take very long to add a 1' asphalt ramp instead of a 2" 90 degree curb.

[meme405]

What you doing driving so close to the shoulder? The only way I would run into that pothole is if I was distracted by a cute chick in a really tight blue dress prancing across the road.

He was going left to go up the ramp there. during the day this is easy to spot and avoid, but at night if you do not know it is there, its something that can be missed, and it is actually exactly in the path of where you would drive to take that ramp.

[MG1]

I usually give a bit of space before going onto/off of any ramp and not hug the shoulder. Shoulders have debris in them (parts off cars, retreads, rocks, condoms, needles, j/k).

just saiyan

[MG1]

I am not saying the highway is not going to be great once they are done, just that they could take a little care in making sure the way they leave the highway is in slightly better condition, and again I am not complaining about places where they might not have had a chance to finish something up overnight, and it was fixed the next day. I am talking about clear failures that have now been left for months unfixed.



Thanks for re-affirming exactly what I mean, it would not take very long to add a 1' asphalt ramp instead of a 2" 90 degree curb.

Thank you........... exactly what I wanted to say, except you said it better.

[melloman]

You know how you're saying you would freak? , guess who freaked last night at 2 am.... :fuuuuu: Dropped off my rim at Panther wheels today $125 to fix and ordering a tire online now because it split the tire about 2 inches right along the bead line right before the sidewall starts $250 later for 1 super sport with tirerack shave job later since I can't go with a brand new tire on AWD :okay:

Bad roadworks highway 1 burnaby - YouTube (http://youtu.be/TZ0z3lQo7ls)

Forward the bill to the city. Show them the video and say the roadway was in an inadequate condition. They might say the same thing as MG1, and ask why you were so close to the shoulder. But it clearly shows you trying to change lanes into the new lane.

Hope you get some sort of compensation. :thumbsup:

[fliptuner]

BTW, new ramp from MHB westbound onto Lougheed westbound is now open! MASSIVE improvement!

Drove it from MHB to Hwy 1 West, Hwy 1 East to MHB, and Lougheed East to MHB. Vast improvement and no lights!!!

The one thing that made me laugh is that there's a short tunnel with a sign that reads: Tunnel Closed When Lights Flashing but it's mounted on the face of the entrance and it's one-way. So if you're about to go through the tunnel and it's closed, you're totally fucked...lol.

[Gridlock]

I haven't vetted the information, but this is just a fascinating read. Sources are provided.

Sightline: British Columbia?s Traffic Delusion | Price Tags (http://pricetags.wordpress.com/2013/10/03/sightline-british-columbias-traffic-delusion/)

http://daily.sightline.org/wp-content/blogs.dir/2/files/2013/09/Port-Mann-Bridge-actuals-vs.-forecasts.png

If this IS actually the forecast for traffic, we're going to be boned.

[falcon]

You'd think driving home to Surrey from Vancouver at 1AM would mean an empty freeway and quick trip.

Little did I know....

[blkgsr]

the traffic is worse at night than it is during the day...

[murd0c]

Just because thats when they are trying to get a lot of the work finished, It's like playing mario kart while baked lol

[eurochevy]

Forward the bill to the city. Show them the video and say the roadway was in an inadequate condition. They might say the same thing as MG1, and ask why you were so close to the shoulder. But it clearly shows you trying to change lanes into the new lane.

Hope you get some sort of compensation. :thumbsup:
no city doesn't pay for pot holes, at least not like that. Besides apparently its kiewit's jurisdiction not the city

[Soundy]

I haven't vetted the information, but this is just a fascinating read. Sources are provided.

Sightline: British Columbia?s Traffic Delusion | Price Tags (http://pricetags.wordpress.com/2013/10/03/sightline-british-columbias-traffic-delusion/)

http://daily.sightline.org/wp-content/blogs.dir/2/files/2013/09/Port-Mann-Bridge-actuals-vs.-forecasts.png

If this IS actually the forecast for traffic, we're going to be boned.

Probably a lot of it is because people are short-sighted morons and will add an hour to their commute and burn an extra $10 of gas a day, rather than pay a fucking buck-fifty toll, just to show they're pissed off. "Yeah, I don't like the cost of shoes, so I'm just gonna shoot myself in the foot. That'll show those price-gouging shoe companies!"

Biggest reason to put a small (maybe $1) toll on EVERY crossing: people can stop being idiots about it and just go back to taking the route that, I don't know, MAKES SENSE??

[lilaznviper]

driving on hwy 1 at night is more entertaining. you get to watch the idiots who speed, slam on the brakes when they need to merge into a different lane

[UFO]

Probably a lot of it is because people are short-sighted morons and will add an hour to their commute and burn an extra $10 of gas a day, rather than pay a fucking buck-fifty toll, just to show they're pissed off. "Yeah, I don't like the cost of shoes, so I'm just gonna shoot myself in the foot. That'll show those price-gouging shoe companies!"


Sounds exactly like those that voted HST out... that oughta teach those Liberals a lesson!

[Soundy]

Sounds exactly like those that voted HST out... that oughta teach those Liberals a lesson!

Yeah, sure showed them.

[Gridlock]

Probably a lot of it is because people are short-sighted morons and will add an hour to their commute and burn an extra $10 of gas a day, rather than pay a fucking buck-fifty toll, just to show they're pissed off. "Yeah, I don't like the cost of shoes, so I'm just gonna shoot myself in the foot. That'll show those price-gouging shoe companies!"

Biggest reason to put a small (maybe $1) toll on EVERY crossing: people can stop being idiots about it and just go back to taking the route that, I don't know, MAKES SENSE??

I don't know...I was playing around with that and I'm actually willing to say that the stats are pretty accurate.

So you can assume about people making choices for them** but much like your penis(I'm not being an asshole here, bear with me :), when the stump end starts to go limp(notice the actuals start in 2001), the tip doesn't get to be excited on its own. So, whether use alternate routes or not, there isn't enough traffic to meet their projections.

Their assumptions for the business case for the new bridge show ever increasing volumes of 'new' cars. It's recency. That which happened in our nearest past forms the basis for our decisions.

"Traffic is increasing. Therefore, traffic will continue to increase"

Now, you'd say...but its projections. Maybe this guy is full of shit.

Cool!

But I couple it with: the train wreck that is traffic on goldenears and the checks we write to cover it and the fact that the business case for the PM2 was kind of bad to begin with(last minute decision to pull it and replace), I'm actually kind of inclined to believe that the same thing will happen here.

**You aren't necessarily wasting gas. Just because its new, doesn't automatically make it better in all things. If your commute was always the #1, then yes, going out of the way would be foolish, but if you could go either way, then you can still go either way. Just me.

OH!

And stop bringing up the goddamned HST all the time! It was shitty law!

:):)

[Soundy]

So what's the alternative?

The old Port Mann and surrounding infrastructure was WAY over-loaded and over-crowded. More capacity needed to be added, one way or another. So when you're already dumping a few billion into the project, do you skimp on a few percentage points and build things JUST BARELY big enough to handle projections, and then have things get clogged up again during rush hour, but still come in even over-all by averaging in all times of the day?

Or do you take the opportunity to do it all ONCE, spend a little extra, make sure there's PLENTY of room for any possible future growth, and little chance that rush hours are going to clog up for a very long time?

The former way is how MANY projects have been done over the years, and come back to bite us before long. As long as the entire corridor is getting ripped up and re-done, better to over-engineer things a bit while you have the chance, as well as re-designing and re-doing ALL the interconnects that need it.

I mean, I can think of at least twice in the last 20 years that the Cape Horn interchange has been kind of half-assed re-built, that's kind of shuffled traffic around, but not really CHANGED its flow, and certainly not IMPROVED it more than just temporarily. Now, it's a dream to use, and it will still get better as the rest of the connections are brought online.

Unfortunately, transportation is one of the biggest draws for armchair quarterbacks. Over-build things by even a bit, and everyone's all over it for being a waste. Under-build it, and before long people are bitching about the idiots that designed it too small for the growing capacity. Transportation designers pretty much LIVE a damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don't existence thanks to the tens of thousands of people who "know better".

[Gridlock]

None of which I would mind if: each user weren't paying a premium rated toll(a) and paying out to the financiers in a public-private partnership when the number of users does not match the projections.(B)

We'll get over (a), but not when the bills start coming in ala goldenears. The only reason no one gives a shit about it on the goldenears, is no one actually wanted it, or uses it.
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[inv4zn]

I gotta say, I normally don't agree with either of you, but Soundy's nailed it about the Port Mann, and then Gridlock has an excellent point with the Golden Ears.

I guess the whole thing is like the HST...it's theory is quite good; the execution however...

[Soundy]

I wouldn't say "no-one wanted" the GEB. It's long been known that a fixed crossing was needed between Mission and the Port Mann, as the Albion Ferry just didn't have the capacity, and really, funnelling all the traffic through the middle of Fort Langley wasn't the greatest idea. I think the biggest "huh?" with the GEB is where they chose to put it, as it still leaves a huge gap between it and the Mission bridge, that's now un-served by any crossing (whether or not the ferry should have been kept in service is a whole other discussion).

Realistically, given the current population centers, the available access, and the areas of parks and farmland on the south bank of the Fraser, it probably uses the best alignment available.

[MG1]

I just want someone to nail those fokkers who get away with driving in the HOV lane to get discount. Similar to those bastards who ride the Skytrain for free.

Not sure how much revenue is lost......... probably not that much, but still irks me. Majority of people are honest and see the bigger picture. Bottom line - shit costs money. Just hope the money collected is used wisely and collected with efficiency.

[meme405]

I just want someone to nail those fokkers who get away with driving in the HOV lane to get discount. Similar to those bastards who ride the Skytrain for free.

Not sure how much revenue is lost......... probably not that much, but still irks me. Majority of people are honest and see the bigger picture. Bottom line - shit costs money. Just hope the money collected is used wisely and collected with efficiency.

With you on that brother.

I'm sure once the construction wraps up the police will be on each end of the bridge weekly to enforce the HOV lane restrictions, and I bet the first couple times they do it, they are going to absolutely CLEAN HOUSE.

EDIT:

Heres to hoping they finish up the willingdon exit soon, with BCIT right there its a nightmare at about 5:30 when everyone is leaving school and traffic is building up. Drove by it late last night and I am not even going to complain about the retarded trafficking strategy because there was a lot of work happening.

[Soundy]

I just want someone to nail those fokkers who get away with driving in the HOV lane to get discount. Similar to those bastards who ride the Skytrain for free.

Not sure how much revenue is lost......... probably not that much, but still irks me. Majority of people are honest and see the bigger picture. Bottom line - shit costs money. Just hope the money collected is used wisely and collected with efficiency.

Yeah, they're saving, what... 15%? That amounts to 45 cents on a $3 toll. HOV ticket is something like $180? You'd have to do that every day for a year to make up the ticket cost.

[MG1]

Finally, the third lane on Hwy1 from 232nd to 264th eastbound opened this morning. Made a difference, but most people were confused as to what they should do - as in they thought the lane would end and merge eventually. Very right lane was empty most of the way. I just went in and cruised all the way up the hill. Perhaps by tomorrow those turning off at the 264th exit will figure it out and stop clogging up the other two lanes.

[Soundy]

Finally, the third lane on Hwy1 from 232nd to 264th eastbound opened this morning. Made a difference, but most people were confused as to what they should do - as in they thought the lane would end and merge eventually. Very right lane was empty most of the way. I just went in and cruised all the way up the hill. Perhaps by tomorrow those turning off at the 264th exit will figure it out and stop clogging up the other two lanes.

The westbound climbing lanes where Sumas Way and Fraser Hwy. join Hwy.1 in Abbotsford are like this as well... people will get on the highway and then immediately move to the middle lane, leaving the right lane wide open. Been like that for years, people still haven't clued in.

Come to think of it, the ramp from Brunette onto Hwy.1 w/b has been this way for decades - people still merge over immediately, even when it's a dead-stop in rush hour, leaving those in the know (or just those who are paying attention) a few hundred meters to zip ahead.

[MG1]

The westbound climbing lanes where Sumas Way and Fraser Hwy. join Hwy.1 in Abbotsford are like this as well... people will get on the highway and then immediately move to the middle lane, leaving the right lane wide open. Been like that for years, people still haven't clued in.

Come to think of it, the ramp from Brunette onto Hwy.1 w/b has been this way for decades - people still merge over immediately, even when it's a dead-stop in rush hour, leaving those in the know (or just those who are paying attention) a few hundred meters to zip ahead.

Yup, people are pretty clueless.... either that or they are on auto-pilot.

Some of them switch like so quickly it's scary. And, they don't even look, as if they have the right away. Sometimes I wish I had a fricken rocket launcher installed on the car, LOL. Rid the roads of these narrow-minded fucktards. /rant.

[melloman]

Sometimes I wish I had a fricken rocket launcher installed on the car, LOL. Rid the roads of these narrow-minded fucktards. /rant.

If I had this.. Nobody would ever be infront of me again :joy:

[Soundy]

Yup, people are pretty clueless.... either that or they are on auto-pilot.
This. When the new Pitt River Bridge opened, exiting Loughheed westbound to the Mary Hill Bypass switched from a left-turn lane, to the two right lanes exiting to an overpass... for a full year, EVERY TIME I went over that bridge, I'd see someone ahead of me fly across three lanes at the last second because they were on autopilot, didn't bother to look at the AMPLE SIGNAGE... and probably didn't learn the last 10 times that the exit had changed.

Same thing happened when the new ramps from MHB to Hwy. 1 w/b opened - plenty of signs, plenty of advance warning if you're actually paying attention... and even so, enough people got confused and went the wrong way, they sent out news crews to collect people's bitching about it. One idiot actually claimed he was "forced" over the new Port Mann because of it... fine, you accidentally go down the ramp and end up on United, but then you have to stay in the right lane, over the overpass, then get in the middle or left lane around the loop (under the sign that says TOLL BRIDGE), then make that right turn onto Lougheed, before you're "stuck" going onto the Port Mann... dude had a half-dozen or more opportunities to go a different way.

Some of them switch like so quickly it's scary. And, they don't even look, as if they have the right away.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/4030692/memes/groucho%20i%20see%20what%20you%20did%20there.jpg

[MG1]

Cool, I was waiting to see if anyone would catch that (right of way)...... it's RS, so I wasn't expecting a correction or a play on words comment. You have a keener eye than most.

[Traum]

Came across this article just now:

Province admits Port Mann traffic?s down, calls it temporary | News1130 (http://www.news1130.com/2014/02/07/province-admits-port-mann-traffic-down-says-its-temporary/)

SURREY (NEWS1130) – Traffic has dropped substantially on the Port Mann bridge since tolls were introduced. But BC’s transportation minister says the effect is temporary and drivers are expected to return once all construction on the Highway 1 corridor into Vancouver is completed.

Todd Stone admits that after the first year, revenue forecasts are being adjusted to 20 per cent lower than first anticipated but he says the province is still on track to pay off the cost of the new, eight-lane bridge ahead of schedule.

He also says there has been no mass diversion of drivers but, rather, that more people are taking public transit or working from home.

The toll doubled to $3 per crossing last month and critics such as the Canadian Taxpayers Federation say drivers are finding other routes to get to work.

Officials in New Westminster have complained that the neighbouring Pattullo bridge is bearing the brunt of a commuter exodus, but Stone says other bridges have not seen dramatic increases in traffic.

“In fact, truck traffic is up on all crossings. This would point to a healthy, growing, vibrant economy,” he says.

The bridge is supposed to be paid off by 2050.
I'm sure there is at least some truth to how more people are taking public transit to cross the Fraser. But I find it hard to believe that there has been no mass diversion of drivers. New West and the Pattullo has long been turned into an even bigger gong show since the tolls came on. And I know from personal experience that it wasn't quite that jammed up when the Port Mann was still free.

[UFO]

Even when tolls were $1.50 congestion wasn't that bad along McBride. Amazing the lengths people will go to to save $1.50, doesn't even buy a coffee for the day

[Traum]

Agreed that the congestion wasn't nearly that bad when the $1.50 toll was in effect. But I have a slightly different take than UFO does. It isn't a savings of $1.50 drivers think about -- it's $0 vs $6 (for 2 trips) that they see.

Of course, they probably forgot to take into account how much more gas they use while idling, or how much their own time is worth...

[CPE]

The thing is for someone making near minimum wage, it might be "worth" it in their minds to spend extra time but save money. Where as someone in a simliar position but lets say double the pay, may have an additional $6 disposable income if it means the save an hour (total both ways) in time.

[m3thods]

Thankfully I go against rush-hour traffic when taking the Patullo. But it's very noticeable that lineups to cross are much longer than they were pre-tolled Port Mann Bridge. Even when I go home at night there is a bit of extra congestion heading north. A few years ago it was empty after 5:30pm.

I'm sure some of the people who are avoiding the toll deem it necessary because of their specific situations. But I'm willing to bet that a significant amount of drivers are avoiding it just to save the $6 and nothing more than that, be it because they think roads should be free or whether they're too cheap to pay a toll to save time.

[Soundy]

The thing is for someone making near minimum wage, it might be "worth" it in their minds to spend extra time but save money. Where as someone in a simliar position but lets say double the pay, may have an additional $6 disposable income if it means the save an hour (total both ways) in time.

I'm sure some of the people who are avoiding the toll deem it necessary because of their specific situations. But I'm willing to bet that a significant amount of drivers are avoiding it just to save the $6 and nothing more than that, be it because they think roads should be free or whether they're too cheap to pay a toll to save time.
And yet, how many of those going the "free" routes are calculating how much extra gas they're burning? Bet for a lot of them, it comes out to costing the same either way, if not being cheaper to take the bridge... but they don't look at their gas receipts, they just see the "$6" and get all bent out of shape and do stupid things rather than thinking it through.

[m3thods]

^I think we're saying the same thing lol

[RRxtar]

And yet, how many of those going the "free" routes are calculating how much extra gas they're burning? Bet for a lot of them, it comes out to costing the same either way, if not being cheaper to take the bridge... but they don't look at their gas receipts, they just see the "$6" and get all bent out of shape and do stupid things rather than thinking it through.
Its like how my grandparents will spend all day driving all over town to 5 different stores to find the one that has peanut butter on sale for 50 cents cheaper. And then brag about how they saved 50 cents. lol vs me, who walks across the street to the local grocery store which is generally a little more expensive, but I dont have to drive anywhere to get there, and Im home in 20 minutes.

[UFO]

to be a complete hypocrite, I avoid the Port Mann and take the Patullo because of the $3, and even when it was $1.50. But I don't have to go out of my way to take the free bridge, and its not a trip i make frequently.

If I made that commute every day, i think i would go crazy waiting in the congestion and having to deal with the last minute lane cutters every single day. For my own mental health that $6 would be money well spent even if it didn't save me any time.

[fliptuner]

Time, fuel, wear/tear, stress = money, one way or another

[Traum]

If I made that commute every day, i think i would go crazy waiting in the congestion and having to deal with the last minute lane cutters every single day. For my own mental health that $6 would be money well spent even if it didn't save me any time.
It isn't just the last minute lane cutters that I hate -- the ones letting them in are every bit as guilty.

As a rule, I NEVER let these last minute lane cutters butt in. :accepted:

[m3thods]

^I'm one of those people, but I'm against traffic and there's no lineup at 128th St. and I time it so I catch gaps from people not going as fast lol.

When there's a lineup, I tend to feel bad enough to wait in line. I never cut in at the border, and follow your stance when I'm waiting in line to cross lol

[Coren]

I read the report and it says that traffic has actually increased during peak periods (rush hour), and that traffic will divert to the free crossings during off peak periods (such as weekends).
The new bridge has also pushed the morning rush hour to peak out at 7am instead of 6am. So many people are choosing to save time, but will spend the extra time waiting for free crossings during the weekends when they have the time to do it.

So is the new bridge a failure? I wouldn't quite say that yet.

http://www.pmh1project.com/Policy%20Planning%20%20Reports/Port%20Mann%20Bridge%20Traffic%20Report%20-%20January%202014.pdf

[Soundy]

to be a complete hypocrite, I avoid the Port Mann and take the Patullo because of the $3, and even when it was $1.50. But I don't have to go out of my way to take the free bridge, and its not a trip i make frequently.
That doesn't make you a hypocrite, that just makes you efficient.

[Traum]

I read the report and it says that traffic has actually increased during peak periods (rush hour), and that traffic will divert to the free crossings during off peak periods (such as weekends).
The new bridge has also pushed the morning rush hour to peak out at 7am instead of 6am. So many people are choosing to save time, but will spend the extra time waiting for free crossings during the weekends when they have the time to do it.

So is the new bridge a failure? I wouldn't quite say that yet.

http://www.pmh1project.com/Policy%20Planning%20%20Reports/Port%20Mann%20Bridge%20Traffic%20Report%20-%20January%202014.pdf
I would never call the new bridge a failure. For me at least, even with the $3 toll, if it can save me a good chunk of time compared to the old bridge (and it does), then it is already a success.

I still think $3 per crossing is a bit high, and the discounted rate of $1.50 would have been a much better price that resulted in higher usage (and is thus more ideal from a civic transportation plan pov). But hey, it is good to have the new bridge with the much higher capacity.

[Hondaracer]

You can get from 160th to first ave in 15 minutes or less on most days even during peak hours

I'd say that's a fucking massive success from what it was 6 years ago.
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[m3thods]

^Totally agree. It still boggles my mind how fast I can get to Langley from Burnaby regardless of peak/non-peak. It has actually opened my options on potential job locations if it came down to it (as in, I wouldn't think to avoid east of the Port Mann because of "traffic" issues).

[MG1]

I used to take Port Mann when it was $1.50 one way. Loved it. Now that it has doubled, I take SFPR and the Pattullo. If I drove the truck, the slight detour would not be worth it, but when I get close to 35 MPG on the little car, the detour makes sense. I leave at around 5:30 AM and come back at around 1:45 pm. I lose about 10 minutes of time each way. There's no way it costs me 6 bucks in gas extra.

I would take the Port Mann in a heartbeat if it was $1.50 each way. That, to me, was a decent and fair amount.

[Lomac]

I'm curious how much the traffic has changed on the Golden Ears now. Lots of people avoided it because the Port Mann was free but now that it's not...

[twitchyzero]

35mpg...what do you drive?

[mb_]

89blkcivic :troll:
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[UFO]

You can get from 160th to first ave in 15 minutes or less on most days even during peak hours

I'd say that's a fucking massive success from what it was 6 years ago.
Posted via RS Mobile

I wonder if they could have accomplished that by just tolling the old port Mann and having drivers flock to the free routes to avoid the toll. Semisrs
Posted via RS Mobile

[nah]

1. They need a calculator for the dumbasses that drive out of their way to take the Pattullo over the Port Mann. It would show how much extra in gas/time it's costing them to take Pattullo.

2. Heading towards Pattullo on Scott Road is full of asshole truck drivers and other drivers that cut in from the turning lane. They need to police that shit cause traffic crawls when they all these assholes do that.

3. Truck traffic has increased by a lot on Pattullo as the toll for them on Port Mann is $9 each way. They should lower this fee or ban trucks on the Pattullo. That bridge isn't made for trucks and most times you have shitty drivers turning on their hazards and taking up both lanes.

[Soundy]

They should have simply banned heavy trucks from the Patullo a decade ago. :pokerface:
Posted via RS Mobile

[melloman]

It's k. The Patullo's going to be rebuilt soon, and it will have a toll on it aswell. So they'll be stuck heading to Alex Fraser which is already fucked during peak hours.

[MG1]

1. They need a calculator for the dumbasses that drive out of their way to take the Pattullo over the Port Mann. It would show how much extra in gas/time it's costing them to take Pattullo.

2. Heading towards Pattullo on Scott Road is full of asshole truck drivers and other drivers that cut in from the turning lane. They need to police that shit cause traffic crawls when they all these assholes do that.

3. Truck traffic has increased by a lot on Pattullo as the toll for them on Port Mann is $9 each way. They should lower this fee or ban trucks on the Pattullo. That bridge isn't made for trucks and most times you have shitty drivers turning on their hazards and taking up both lanes.

OK, here's the math. I save 6 bucks a day going to and from Abbotsford via Pattullo. That's 30 bucks a week. I use just over that much of gas in a week. Mind you, I get cheap gas in Sumas. In any case, it makes total sense for me.

As for your "asshole truck drivers" comment, those guys carry goods that you and I use. There's no need to vent your frustrations on them.

Just as apropriate a comment to you, buddy, move out of New West and save yourself the aggravation, so you don't have to call people azzholes. I won't even get into you calling people "dumbasses" for taking an alternative route. I would only take offense if it had come from someone a little more level headed.

I get it...... you're pissed off, but just state it in a nicer way, that's all. The world is already fucked up without your contributions.

god bless...............

[vitaminG]

. I lose about 10 minutes of time each way. There's no way it costs me 6 bucks in gas extra.

10 minutes is worth less than $3 to you?

[MG1]

Yes, when you get to my age 10 minutes is a drop in the bucket. I guess 10 minutes of you playing a video game is hella important..............

see? I just judged you like you judged me.



nuff said


plus, I get up at 5 in the morning, even though I start 8:30 am. Oh no......... I wasted precious sleep time. As I heard from a show I watched last night. Plenty of time to sleep when you're dead. I'd rather spend 10 extra minutes doing what I like doing.............. driving. I find excuses to drive anywhere. On a whim, I head down to Portland. You know why? 'Cause I fucking can.


No offence........... just had to, you know.
https://i.imgflip.com/6tzau.jpg

[meme405]

Not getting into the debate over people avoiding tolls.

What I will say is this:

Now that the project is damn near complete, the entire effort from my perspective is a complete success. Everything is pretty well thought out and built well and should serve us well for many years to come.

I was very critical of different portions of this project as it was proggresing (related to management of the open roadways and progression of work), nothing will change the fact that I believe the project was probably better off being handled by someone like SNC Lavalin over Kiewit/Flatiron. But my point is that now after seeing the final product, I am happy to report that I think its a huge success...

:thumbs::accepted:

INB4 people saying that your opinion is stupid, and who are you to be judging the success of a project.

[AndroidAAA]

Not getting into the debate over people avoiding tolls.

What I will say is this:

Now that the project is damn near complete, the entire effort from my perspective is a complete success. Everything is pretty well thought out and built well and should serve us well for many years to come.

I was very critical of different portions of this project as it was proggresing (related to management of the open roadways and progression of work), nothing will change the fact that I believe the project was probably better off being handled by someone like SNC Lavalin over Kiewit/Flatiron. But my point is that now after seeing the final product, I am happy to report that I think its a huge success...

:thumbs::accepted:

INB4 people saying that your opinion is stupid, and who are you to be judging the success of a project.


I agree with you, my commute from Abby to Burnaby is awesome. Rush hour traffic takes me only 30-40 minutes to get to Burnaby, and there is no longer a slow down at Brunette.

[fliptuner]

One of the rainiest cities in North America, still lacking ample reflectors on major roads.

[nah]

OK, here's the math. I save 6 bucks a day going to and from Abbotsford via Pattullo. That's 30 bucks a week. I use just over that much of gas in a week. Mind you, I get cheap gas in Sumas. In any case, it makes total sense for me.

As for your "asshole truck drivers" comment, those guys carry goods that you and I use. There's no need to vent your frustrations on them.

Just as apropriate a comment to you, buddy, move out of New West and save yourself the aggravation, so you don't have to call people azzholes. I won't even get into you calling people "dumbasses" for taking an alternative route. I would only take offense if it had come from someone a little more level headed.

I get it...... you're pissed off, but just state it in a nicer way, that's all. The world is already fucked up without your contributions.

god bless...............

1. It sounds like you've clearly thought it through in terms of paying the toll vs. not paying the toll. I'm sure a lot of people haven't though and they add an extra 30+ minutes each way to not pay $3. All the while, buying a $4 Starbucks latte at coffee break. When the lineup is crazy, I pay the $3 and park at Scott Road so that I can take my daughter to daycare on time.

2. I didn't say all truck drivers, just the ones that cut the line as if their time was more valuable than everyone else's. I get it, they supply us with goods, doesn't give them the right to be dicks about it.

3. I live in North Delta actually and heads toward New West for my daughter's day care. Now if I did live in New West and all this truck traffic was in my neighbourhood, I'd be even more pissed. That bridge isn't built for truck traffic and neither is the city of New West. Trucks belong on a road like the South Perimeter Road, not small city streets full of families.

[m3thods]

One of the rainiest cities in North America, still lacking ample reflectors on major roads.

Ugh one of the worst stretches is Stewardson heading west (?) towards the Queensborough Bridge from New West. The paint is faded to shit, no cat's eyes to help, and tons of traffic oncoming to hit if you're not careful. I don't drive it that often but when I do, I'm amazed how there aren't more accidents on that stretch.

[UFO]

One of the rainiest cities in North America, still lacking ample reflectors on major roads.

However when we get a 'dump' of snow for 2 days outof the year, the plows dislodge the reflectors into the middle of the lanes or the opposite side, and we end up with no reflectors again
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[hchang]

Bump.

Anybody notice parts of the Coquitlam stretches and Burnaby lake stretches are now 90 km speed limits?

And westbound before Johnson hill is now 90 too

I just wish they would do something for after the merge point eastbound after 200, and westbound from mount Lehman all the way to 200... Always such heavy traffic even during non rush hour times

[MindBomber]

The climbing lanes from 232nd to 264th alleviated the traffic on the worst stretch.

It also looks like 200th was built to accommodate HOV lanes exiting eastbound and entering westbound, which gives me some hope.

[iEatClams]

I cant wait until they finish the galardi overpass, ive been taking the galardi overpass for a while and the seismic upgrades have been a bitch the last few months.


Overall, I'm happy that they built the Port Mann and expanded the highway, it has definitely made the commute easier.

[UFO]

Bump.

Anybody notice parts of the Coquitlam stretches and Burnaby lake stretches are now 90 km speed limits?

And westbound before Johnson hill is now 90 too

No reason why it shouldn't be 100 even 110km limit. The average speed when traffic is flowing is 110-120km. People don't seem to pay a whole lot of attention to the signs

[hchang]

No reason why it shouldn't be 100 even 110km limit. The average speed when traffic is flowing is 110-120km. People don't seem to pay a whole lot of attention to the signs

I think the 80/90 speed limits are either construction speeds or is set as "training", or maybe even to see how we do? Can't think of anywhere else in the lower mainland that 4-6 lanes of traffic flow on each side and with constant turns. Most lanes (Before construction that I can think of correct if wrong) are Alex Fraser (3 lanes) Lions Gate (Counterflow 3) Massey Tunnel (Counterflow 3), and if we count city 3 for Marine drive (Riush hour) 3 Kingsway (Rush hour) and 3 Vedder Road Chilliwack for a short distance. But those above mentioned roads are all straight driving for the most part.

And yes you're right there's always assholes who blow by me at 130 ish and make my truck shake. Pretty stupid on the west side of the bridge cause of all the turns.

And then there are the people who seem to be scared to go speed limit and hog up the left lane and drift into the center lane constantly.

[fliptuner]

They should also put up better signage, so people quit cruising in the passing lane - then enforce it.

[murd0c]

just paid my $1000 Treo bill last week, this bridge can fuck right off I worth rather take an extra 15min to get to work then pay for it out of my pocket

[hchang]

They should also put up better signage, so people quit cruising in the passing lane - then enforce it.

Not like people follow signs anyways. That signs put up a lot of other places (ex. Highway One Abbotsford) but still seems like nobody gives a shit. And it's kinda hard for police to jump up when there's 4-6 lanes of traffic to catch somebody

just paid my $1000 Treo bill last week, this bridge can fuck right off I worth rather take an extra 15min to get to work then pay for it out of my pocket


Why don't you get a monthly pass...?

[murd0c]

I cross it just a little less then the monthly pass being worth while

[MR_BIGGS]

Are you registered? How much of that $1,000 was licence plate processing fees?

[Cr33pUh]

I cross it just a little less then the monthly pass being worth while

That means you cross the bridge 11 times a day that month...assuming you're registered which I doubt you are...

[hchang]

I cross it just a little less then the monthly pass being worth while

$150 for a small vehicle , $300 for a medium vehicle.

I'd say that's a smart move over paying $1000?

[meme405]

That means you cross the bridge 11 times a day that month...assuming you're registered which I doubt you are...

I am assuming he didn't pay it for a bunch of months.

There is literally no way to get a $1000 bill if you are registered.




If they don't bump the speed limit to 100km/h+ relatively soon, and quickly start to decrease the active construction zone, I foresee a lot more people joining the speed sense movement.

It has been months since there was active construction related to the expansion west of willingdon. Yet it remains a part of the construction zone.

They can argue about the bridge deck construction, but thats an unrelated project. Scale back your fucking work zone and crank the speed limit back up.

And if the limit remains at 90km/h after they added extra lanes, and did all this work making the highway safe, they must really be off their fucking rockers.

On a sunny day everyone on that highway is going 110km/h+. Even the big fucking trucks are moving at well past the 100km/h mark.

I saw a kiewit truck going 130km/h at least.

[fliptuner]

Not like people follow signs anyways. That signs put up a lot of other places (ex. Highway One Abbotsford) but still seems like nobody gives a shit. And it's kinda hard for police to jump up when there's 4-6 lanes of traffic to catch somebody


It's very easy to spot when you're driving. I wasn't implying they would be stationary. When's the last time you've heard of someone getting a ticket for blocking the left lane?

The better the signage, enforcement and awareness, the less it will happen.

[MR_BIGGS]

I am assuming he didn't pay it for a bunch of months.

There is literally no way to get a $1000 bill if you are registered.


Unless you are registered with a business fleet of vehicles. Otherwise, $1,000 has to be for several months. Speculating here, but I'm guessing a Refuse to Issue was sent. If you have $25 overdue in tolls past 90 days, the next time you go to renew your insurance or driver's licence, you won't be able to until you pay.

There's no way around not paying if you cross the bridge. They even charge interest now.

[murd0c]

Are you registered? How much of that $1,000 was licence plate processing fees?
i never thought about that I should call them

That means you cross the bridge 11 times a day that month...assuming you're registered which I doubt you are...

I haven't paid since Nov :whistle: hahaha

[SoNaRWaVe]

murd0c, you need to register or pay within a week of using the bridge. if i am not mistaken, there is like 2.50 or 1.50 for a finding fee (to find your information through your license plate). i believe this is for each time you use the bridge.

and here's a blurb from their website:

You have 30 days to pay your tolls from the date on your mailed invoice. After 30 days, interest will accrue daily on the outstanding balance at a rate of 19% per year, compounded monthly.
Once your balance reaches more than $25 and has been outstanding for more than 90 days, your account will be designated as Refuse to Issue (RTI). ICBC will then be notified and you will be unable to renew your driver's licence or purchase car insurance until the toll debt and any additional fees have been paid in full.
Unpaid tolls by out of province users will be subject to collections.

[murd0c]

oh I'm aware and i have been registered since I was able to. Just thought it was time to finally pay it. i really wonder how often I was charged for the finding fee tho

[fliptuner]

If you're registered, you shouldn't have been charged.

[meme405]

just paid my $1000 Treo bill last week, this bridge can fuck right off I worth rather take an extra 15min to get to work then pay for it out of my pocket





I haven't paid since Nov :whistle: hahaha

So you didn't pay for 6-7 months, and you are complaining?

You're pretty stupid.

EDIT: 15 minutes saved per trip. 2 trips a day, 5 days a week, for 7 months.

You saved 70 hours of travel time.

Even at $20/hour, you saved 1400 bucks using that bridge. Which in theory puts you ahead by 400 bucks over what they charged you.

This does not factor the gas you saved by not idling in traffic and the headache and BS you have to deal with. Nor the wear and tear on your car.

But have fun in the patullo bridge traffic. Just pray you aren't on it when that Piece of shit comes crumbling down in even the most minor earthquake.

[multicartual]

just paid my $1000 Treo bill last week, this bridge can fuck right off I worth rather take an extra 15min to get to work then pay for it out of my pocket


$1000?!!? How often do you drive across it?

[MR_BIGGS]

If you're registered you don't have any licence plate processing fees. That $1,000 is all toll fees. Interest did not start getting charged until April 1. At 19 per cent, it's a good idea you paid it off.

[murd0c]

$1000?!!? How often do you drive across it?

I cross it twice a day to and from work and since I like getting the fuck out of Surrey on weekends as well :(

[fliptuner]

I thought when you registered, you were required to give a CC #?

[meme405]

I thought when you registered, you were required to give a CC #?

You were, but if you had your credit card replaced or it expired, or for any number of other reasons it was no longer valid, then the charges would have sat on the account until you finally paid them and added a new credit card.

My credit card expired and I got a new one, within that month they must have sent me three letters and a bunch of emails telling me to update my information so that my bill can be paid.

[Hondaracer]

If your not register it almost triples the cost with the processing fee.

[hchang]

If your not register it almost triples the cost with the processing fee.

So in a fair world, our insurance should go down since ICBC is making extra income now.... But nope.

[murd0c]

I thought when you registered, you were required to give a CC #?

You were, but if you had your credit card replaced or it expired, or for any number of other reasons it was no longer valid, then the charges would have sat on the account until you finally paid them and added a new credit card.

My credit card expired and I got a new one, within that month they must have sent me three letters and a bunch of emails telling me to update my information so that my bill can be paid.

exactly but I don't want them to have my credit card so I have them setup by online banking now instead.

[meme405]

So in a fair world, our insurance should go down since ICBC is making extra income now.... But nope.

What?

The processing fee is just the fee charged to unregistered vehicles. It represents the costs associated with them having to track down who it was who crossed the bridge, bill them for it, and actually try and retrieve the money from that person.

The only relation to ICBC exists because it costs treo money to get the information of the vehicle from ICBC. The reason it costs ICBC money to get this information is because they have to pay someone to fish it out of the system and forward it to treo.

Its not like ICBC makes money off this system, or atleast they aren't supposed to be.

The idea is that the tolls are supposed to go towards funding the expenses incurred from the project, and to provide funds for other infrastructure improvements.

The idea of the toll was never to subsidize our insurance premiums...

exactly but I don't want them to have my credit card so I have them setup by online banking now instead.

So maybe this should be your avatar then:

http://www.bloggingbroker.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/tinfoil_hat.jpg

[Soundy]

...and westbound from mount Lehman all the way to 200... Always such heavy traffic even during non rush hour times

I don't know how you define "heavy traffic"... Monday morning I left Abbotsford shortly after 6am and made it to the job site on English Bay before 7.

[UFO]

I think the 80/90 speed limits are either construction speeds or is set as "training", or maybe even to see how we do? Can't think of anywhere else in the lower mainland that 4-6 lanes of traffic flow on each side and with constant turns. Most lanes (Before construction that I can think of correct if wrong) are Alex Fraser (3 lanes) Lions Gate (Counterflow 3) Massey Tunnel (Counterflow 3), and if we count city 3 for Marine drive (Riush hour) 3 Kingsway (Rush hour) and 3 Vedder Road Chilliwack for a short distance. But those above mentioned roads are all straight driving for the most part.


Lions Gate counterflow is only 2 lanes, but I'm not too sure what you're trying to say exactly above. Are you suggesting Kingsway or Marine Drive should have an 80/90 speed limit?

I think 90 is where its going to stay. I was tagged for an excessive at 125 in the 80 zone where traffic flow was 110-120, just after Willingdon years and years back before construction was even slated. So I feel like they will see an increase of 10km/h as 'progress'.

I'd love to see electronic speed limit signs like what they have on the I5 as you approach Seattle. That way the speed limit can change as traffic volume allows.

[nah]

Is this bridge going to be like the Coq hwy and be toll free once the cost to build has been recouped?

[quasi]

Is this bridge going to be like the Coq hwy and be toll free once the cost to build has been recouped?

That's what they say but they said that about the Coquihalla as well and that thing had a toll long after it was paid for but eventually it came off. It probably won't be removed in my lifetime, they are saying 40 years but once the Govt starts bringing in taxes or levies they don't like to let them go.

[meme405]

I think 90 is where its going to stay. I was tagged for an excessive at 125 in the 80 zone where traffic flow was 110-120, just after Willingdon years and years back before construction was even slated. So I feel like they will see an increase of 10km/h as 'progress'.

It hasn't gone up any in many sections.

As someone pointed out earlier to me; It was 90 before the construction in many places, and it went down to 80 for construction across the board, and now the plan is for it to be 100 east of the bridge, 90 through the lakes, and 80 west of grandview.

So we actually didn't even gain 10km/h, we essentially gained absolutely nothing.

I see erratic driving every damn day through the lake stretch, from people getting pissed off at people going 80 or 90. The speed limit needs to be 100 at least, 110 would be more suitable.

Source:

Why are construction speed limits still in effect on Hwy 1? | News1130 (http://www.news1130.com/2014/02/28/why-are-construction-speed-limits-still-in-effect-on-hwy-1/)

Major fuck up on the governments part. There needs to be more signs saying "Get out of the fucking fast lane". And more coppers need to slam people blocking the fast lane.

[Lomac]

That's what they say but they said that about the Coquihalla as well and that thing had a toll long after it was paid for but eventually it came off. It probably won't be removed in my lifetime, they are saying 40 years but once the Govt starts bringing in taxes or levies they don't like to let them go.

I was okay with tolls on the Coq. Considering the beating it takes every winter and the amount of repairs they used to do, it was justifiable. Since the tolls have been removed, the road quality has dropped significantly.

[Soundy]

It hasn't gone up any in many sections.

As someone pointed out earlier to me; It was 90 before the construction in many places, and it went down to 80 for construction across the board, and now the plan is for it to be 100 east of the bridge, 90 through the lakes, and 80 west of grandview.

So we actually didn't even gain 10km/h, we essentially gained absolutely nothing.
How about extra lanes... better ramps... less congestion... :concentrate:

Source:

Why are construction speed limits still in effect on Hwy 1? | News1130 (http://www.news1130.com/2014/02/28/why-are-construction-speed-limits-still-in-effect-on-hwy-1/)
What a retarded fucking question... BECAUSE PARTS ARE STILL UNDER CONSTRUCTION.

The alternative is to have limits constantly going up and down as little sections get done. Then you'd bitch because you got a ticket for going 90 in and 80 construction zone when you'd only just got back up to 90 after leaving another construction zone.

There needs to be more signs saying "Get out of the fucking fast lane". And more coppers need to slam people blocking the fast lane.
THIS I think we can all agree with.

[Soundy]

I was okay with tolls on the Coq. Considering the beating it takes every winter and the amount of repairs they used to do, it was justifiable. Since the tolls have been removed, the road quality has dropped significantly.

+1 :woot2:

[meme405]

How about extra lanes... better ramps... less congestion... :concentrate:


What a retarded fucking question... BECAUSE PARTS ARE STILL UNDER CONSTRUCTION.

The alternative is to have limits constantly going up and down as little sections get done. Then you'd bitch because you got a ticket for going 90 in and 80 construction zone when you'd only just got back up to 90 after leaving another construction zone.


THIS I think we can all agree with.


No I was listing that as a source because at the bottom it says what the new speed limits are going to be. I agree that the article was rather stupid.

And yes we did gain better traffic flow and all that jazz, but i'm just disapointed that we couldn't even bump the limit to 100km/h across the entire section, like all the way to the cassiar, or atleast willingdon.

In the end it doesn't matter because everyone will drive it at 110 anyway.

[lilaznviper]

everytime i drive in the morning cars are going 100+ km/h. once i get across the port mann into surrey everyone seem to go 120+

I agree that signs need to go up stating slow traffic keep right. There has been numerous times that i was pass traffic using the slow lane.

[nkxdnmxj773]

nice sharing.....http://weber.$$$$$$$$$$$$.com/3.jpg

[c4@urdoor]

So.......
Anyone using any products on their plates that work? I've found many products online from frames to sprays but they are all $$$ and I don't know if they work on these fancy cameras. PM me please :ilied:

No high horse responses please, I pay too fucking much a month (not enough to justify a monthly pass) and i'm getting sick of it.

$1.50 was fair.

[MG1]

everytime i drive in the morning cars are going 100+ km/h. once i get across the port mann into surrey everyone seem to go 120+

I won't confess how fast I go on Hwy1.

No high horse responses please, I pay too fucking much a month (not enough to justify a monthly pass) and i'm getting sick of it.

$1.50 was fair.

I agree. $1.50 was very fair and I crossed that bitch of a bridge every day till they doubled it. Now I only cross it when I'm too tired or in a hurry.

[Lomac]

Here's something that bothers me. The following is a list of all the major upgrades recently completed in the GVRD.

Pitt River Bridge - $200 Million
Sea to Sky - $600 Million
South Fraser Perimeter Road - $1.2 Billion
Port Mann - $2.4 Billion

Obviously the Highway 1 project is the most expensive one, with the bridge itself taking more than half the construction budget allocated. If the contract to collect tolls was set up in such a manner that it would only pay for the bridge portion, I could get behind it. However, the toll goes to pay for the entire damn project -- bridge, overpasses, on/off-ramps and all. Basically what it means is that the huge majority of people who live on the West side of the bridge can take advantage of this whole thing without having to pay a single toll (or, conversely, those who may drive from Abbotsford out to 152nd in Surrey). Basically the only people who are on the hook to pay this thing off are those who, for whatever reason they have, must drive over the bridge in order to get to work/home. If we wanted to make it fair, why not place toll cameras on every on-ramp between 200th in Langley and whatever road in Vancouver it ends at and charge everyone, say, 50 cents to take the trip? And those who drive over the bridge get tolled another $1/1.50? That way everyone who benefits from the upgrades can pay their fair share.

OR.... if we're talking about paying fair shares, why the hell is the Sea to Sky not fucking tolled? Like when the Coquihalla was upgraded, the S2S was more of a "luxury" than necessity. The SFPR could be argued that it truly was a necessity, but at over $1.2 billion dollars, why are there no tolls on it? And yet, a new Pattullo Bridge, which will cost less than the untolled SFPR project, is expected to be tolled?

Where's the damn consistency? Translink/Mayor's Council is screaming for more money, well... you've got three newly completed projects just begging for some shiny new cameras to be installed.

[meme405]

Here's something that bothers me. The following is a list of all the major upgrades recently completed in the GVRD.

Pitt River Bridge - $200 Million
Sea to Sky - $600 Million
South Fraser Perimeter Road - $1.2 Billion
Port Mann - $2.4 Billion

Obviously the Highway 1 project is the most expensive one, with the bridge itself taking more than half the construction budget allocated. If the contract to collect tolls was set up in such a manner that it would only pay for the bridge portion, I could get behind it. However, the toll goes to pay for the entire damn project -- bridge, overpasses, on/off-ramps and all. Basically what it means is that the huge majority of people who live on the West side of the bridge can take advantage of this whole thing without having to pay a single toll (or, conversely, those who may drive from Abbotsford out to 152nd in Surrey). Basically the only people who are on the hook to pay this thing off are those who, for whatever reason they have, must drive over the bridge in order to get to work/home. If we wanted to make it fair, why not place toll cameras on every on-ramp between 200th in Langley and whatever road in Vancouver it ends at and charge everyone, say, 50 cents to take the trip? And those who drive over the bridge get tolled another $1/1.50? That way everyone who benefits from the upgrades can pay their fair share.

OR.... if we're talking about paying fair shares, why the hell is the Sea to Sky not fucking tolled? Like when the Coquihalla was upgraded, the S2S was more of a "luxury" than necessity. The SFPR could be argued that it truly was a necessity, but at over $1.2 billion dollars, why are there no tolls on it? And yet, a new Pattullo Bridge, which will cost less than the untolled SFPR project, is expected to be tolled?

Where's the damn consistency? Translink/Mayor's Council is screaming for more money, well... you've got three newly completed projects just begging for some shiny new cameras to be installed.

Lol...The consistency is:

Fuck surrey.

No but seriously I agree to some degree with what you have said, I use much of the new portions of the highway, every morning on the way to work, and I don't pay shit. Not fair for sure, but I don't really see a better way than tolling the bridge.

[godwin]

The most equitable thing to do of course is to do it via OBD2 connector and toll / km.. but apparently that is a non starter to the province or the mayors.



Where's the damn consistency? Translink/Mayor's Council is screaming for more money, well... you've got three newly completed projects just begging for some shiny new cameras to be installed.

[fliptuner]

re: left lane blocking:

Watching Slower drivers in the fast lane http://www.cbc.ca/player/News/Canada/BC/ID/2465609404/

[meme405]

re: left lane blocking:

Watching Slower drivers in the fast lane Slower drivers in the fast lane - CBC News Vancouver at 6 - CBC Player (http://www.cbc.ca/player/News/Canada/BC/ID/2465609404/)

If I could thank you, and the CBC a million times I would. Finally maybe something will be done about this epidemic.

[Soundy]

So, anyone have any idea when the final two lanes are supposed to open? Last I heard, it was supposed to be within December 2014. The website's "Construction Schedule" is beyond vague: "Final finishing work will continue through 2015. This primarily involves completion of the final two lanes of the Port Mann Bridge and their connections to Highway 1, which are necessary for future capacity."

Construction Schedule (http://www.pmh1project.com/about-the-project/Pages/Construction-Schedule.aspx)

[meme405]

So, anyone have any idea when the final two lanes are supposed to open? Last I heard, it was supposed to be within December 2014. The website's "Construction Schedule" is beyond vague: "Final finishing work will continue through 2015. This primarily involves completion of the final two lanes of the Port Mann Bridge and their connections to Highway 1, which are necessary for future capacity."

Construction Schedule (http://www.pmh1project.com/about-the-project/Pages/Construction-Schedule.aspx)

Substantial completion originally for the project was December 2013.

Substantial Completion was actually achieved ~5 months late. In Summer of this past year, and the project certainly has not made any schedule advances in that period, if anything they have lost even more ground.

Original Final completion was meant to be this past December, so even at a best case scenario they are running ~6 months behind schedule, so we are looking at mid summer before they are all wrapped up.

And since I know this will likely come up, yes Substantial Completion was only achieved in summer of 2014. Keep in mind that substantial achievement as defined by CCDC's 3-2-1 principle is completely independent from the garbage the government feeds the media about the bridge being opened and the tolling system being operated.

Yes the tolls, and the bridge opened up ahead of schedule, but the fast tracking of this work affected all other aspects of the project, as Kiewit threw all their people at the acceleration efforts and abandoned many of their other scheduled work fronts.

So even though it appears like the project was ahead of schedule cause the bridge opened earlier than intended, the project was actually wayyy behind because so many other milestones had lapsed in order to get the bridge up and operating.

Now there isn't much need to explain to everyone why getting the bridge up and running on time was such a big priority, because that's the part of the project which lets the government take your money...

[murd0c]

They have really been starting to pave the other two lanes the past week and I wouldn't be surprised if they are fully opened by March. I think another reason for the delay is because of the removal of the old bridge which seems to be going very slowly but I'm sure that will take another 3 months depending on the weather.

Everything really seems to be coming quickly since the beginning of the month so March opening sometime is very possible

[quasi]

I wonder if there are any penalty clauses and if there are how much?

[meme405]

I wonder if there are any penalty clauses and if there are how much?

I can confirm there is no bonus-penalty clause in the contract.

There was some crap about paying fees and consultant overheads if certain milestones weren't met, but obviously those are the ones that Kiewit rushed to meet.

Realistically on a project of this magnitude it would take a lot of balls to take a contractor on at a fixed price contract and then try and impose a bonus penalty clause on them as well. Those are balls our government doesn't have. If they tried to pull that shit, there would be have been even more ridiculous tender prices, with even higher contingencies.

On that note had there been anything in the contract, when you request a contractor to begin to accelerate a portion of the work, you are taking their autonomy from them to a degree, and therefore absolving them of any other missed milestones.

The project from a commercial aspect looks like a nightmare, and the planning was all sold on the optimistic side of the spectrum (as these things always are). So by the time someone with some level of actual constructability knowledge stepped in built a schedule, and looked at the options, they could likely tell that it was fucked up. So they built the schedule as if everything was okay, and then when things hit the fan, they just crashed the fucking thing and re-baselined the project. Then everybody and their mothers caught a smack and were told to fix it, unfortunately for them its hard to try and dig yourself out of a hole.

[Soundy]

Substantial completion originally for the project was December 2013.

Substantial Completion was actually achieved ~5 months late. In Summer of this past year, and the project certainly has not made any schedule advances in that period, if anything they have lost even more ground.

Oh trust me, I'm all too familiar with this concept. We do CCTV for an upscale restaurant chain you're all familiar with... not one of their new sites has opened anywhere near the final date we're given at the start of the project. A couple of sites (both their smallest and largest stores, ironically) finished close to a year over schedule. So to my thinking, 5 months over isn't too bad considering the relative scale of the whole project.

Of course, in our case, it's usually a case of the designers constantly changing things, with no real procedure for change controls. Then again, the same thing could be happening (probably is, in fact) with PMH1 - you get pencil pushers and bureaucrats hovering around and regularly making random changes that set one part of the construction back... which in most cases, sets other parts back... and when you have a tightly-coordinated schedule, the ripple effect can be just nasty.

Even one trade's delivery delays can have a major ripple effect - like if the flooring guys take delivery a week late of the super-fancy tile that has to come in from somewhere overseas, because a boat was delayed by a hurricane, that affects everyone with fixtures and equipment that sit on that tile... like all the kitchen equipment... which delays plumbing all that in... which potentially screws up the pipefitters who may already have other jobs scheduled for that next week... and so on.

Several years ago we did a number of installs on new gas station constructions for one of the big oil companies. The lead guy for them loved to feel involved, so he'd pop in now and then to make his presence felt... like if I mounted something just slightly different from the plan (out of sheer necessity), he'd give me crap for not for it "not matching the drawings", yet if I asked him first about moving it, his answer would be, "you're the expert, do whatever you think you need to do".

This guy also loved to make changes on-the-fly. By drawing right on the main set of drawings. Without any change controls. Sometimes without informing anyone else.

I had camera wires hanging under a pump canopy where our drawings showed them, and the soffit guys started their work, drilling holes to drop my wires where they were hanging. Got a call from the site super one day, saying some of my wires were in the wrong place so the soffit guys had been instructed not to drop them through. So I went to site... the super was an idiot and couldn't point out to me just what was wrong with the locations, just repeated that they WERE wrong. So we went in the shack and looked through the drawings... and there, on the master set, IN PENCIL, the bigwig had changed their locations, apparently several days before I actually dropped the wires in the first place, but nobody had ever told us...

So this meant me having to drill new holes in the new locations, then crawling up in the now-enclosed canopy to find where the soffit guys had left them coiled, and fish them to the new locations. AND then of course, both the super and the bigwig bitched about the holes at the wrong locations and wanted to know what we were going to do about them...

This bigwig is the same guy who looked at the drawings for a site with a drive thru, didn't like THE LOOK of the curb sticking out behind the electrical room into the drive-thru lane, so he took his pencil and drew it as a straight line. And the concrete guys busted the curb up and re-did it to the changes. And then the inspector came by and said, no no, can't do that, there has to be that spot to stand outside the electrical room doors. And so they had to bust the curb AND the paved lane up, and do it all over again, to the original plans.

Seeing this kind of shit ALL THE TIME means I have a lot of sympathy for Kiewit on this. With all the different levels of government involved, I can only imagine how much hair their managers have lost.

[meme405]

Oh trust me, I'm all too familiar with this concept. We do CCTV for an upscale restaurant chain you're all familiar with... not one of their new sites has opened anywhere near the final date we're given at the start of the project. A couple of sites (both their smallest and largest stores, ironically) finished close to a year over schedule. So to my thinking, 5 months over isn't too bad considering the relative scale of the whole project.

Of course, in our case, it's usually a case of the designers constantly changing things, with no real procedure for change controls. Then again, the same thing could be happening (probably is, in fact) with PMH1 - you get pencil pushers and bureaucrats hovering around and regularly making random changes that set one part of the construction back... which in most cases, sets other parts back... and when you have a tightly-coordinated schedule, the ripple effect can be just nasty.

Even one trade's delivery delays can have a major ripple effect - like if the flooring guys take delivery a week late of the super-fancy tile that has to come in from somewhere overseas, because a boat was delayed by a hurricane, that affects everyone with fixtures and equipment that sit on that tile... like all the kitchen equipment... which delays plumbing all that in... which potentially screws up the pipefitters who may already have other jobs scheduled for that next week... and so on.

Several years ago we did a number of installs on new gas station constructions for one of the big oil companies. The lead guy for them loved to feel involved, so he'd pop in now and then to make his presence felt... like if I mounted something just slightly different from the plan (out of sheer necessity), he'd give me crap for not for it "not matching the drawings", yet if I asked him first about moving it, his answer would be, "you're the expert, do whatever you think you need to do".

This guy also loved to make changes on-the-fly. By drawing right on the main set of drawings. Without any change controls. Sometimes without informing anyone else.

I had camera wires hanging under a pump canopy where our drawings showed them, and the soffit guys started their work, drilling holes to drop my wires where they were hanging. Got a call from the site super one day, saying some of my wires were in the wrong place so the soffit guys had been instructed not to drop them through. So I went to site... the super was an idiot and couldn't point out to me just what was wrong with the locations, just repeated that they WERE wrong. So we went in the shack and looked through the drawings... and there, on the master set, IN PENCIL, the bigwig had changed their locations, apparently several days before I actually dropped the wires in the first place, but nobody had ever told us...

So this meant me having to drill new holes in the new locations, then crawling up in the now-enclosed canopy to find where the soffit guys had left them coiled, and fish them to the new locations. AND then of course, both the super and the bigwig bitched about the holes at the wrong locations and wanted to know what we were going to do about them...

This bigwig is the same guy who looked at the drawings for a site with a drive thru, didn't like THE LOOK of the curb sticking out behind the electrical room into the drive-thru lane, so he took his pencil and drew it as a straight line. And the concrete guys busted the curb up and re-did it to the changes. And then the inspector came by and said, no no, can't do that, there has to be that spot to stand outside the electrical room doors. And so they had to bust the curb AND the paved lane up, and do it all over again, to the original plans.

Seeing this kind of shit ALL THE TIME means I have a lot of sympathy for Kiewit on this. With all the different levels of government involved, I can only imagine how much hair their managers have lost.

Before you feel too bad for Kiewit keep in mind that their contract is Design-Build. So if they have issues with people continuously changing things they only have their own engineers to be upset with.

I mean I guess you could say the government may have requested changes here and there, but I doubt it happened too much. I'd also argue that if the government, who basically knows dick, had to step in and request changes, the design by Kiewit must have been rather appalling.

I do know what you mean though, I've been on projects with owners and engineers as you are describing them, not much you can do. There is some opportunities that you can help yourself by knowing your contract, or by using proper change management procedures, but if the person doesn't want to play ball, then you can often find yourself struggling.

[murd0c]

Looks like some interesting changes are going to be happening again this weekend

New patterns coming into effect on the Port Mann Bridge | News1130 (http://www.news1130.com/2015/01/28/new-patterns-coming-into-effect-on-the-port-mann-bridge/)

SURREY (NEWS1130) – It seems more people are dodging the Port Mann Bridge these days but if it is part of your daily commute, expect some big changes over the weekend.

A new pattern takes effect for westbound traffic on the now two-year-old bridge.

It is part of the planned separation of Coquitlam-bound traffic on Highway One from that going to Burnaby and Vancouver.

Greg Johnson with TI Corp, the company managing the bridge and highway, says drivers will have to make a choice in Surrey where barriers will soon split four lanes of westbound traffic.

“So, near the 152nd Street interchange, the highways can be split in two and drivers are going to have a choice to go straight or to go right using the new local-connection lanes. These lanes all re-join at the Port Mann Bridge, but drivers will have to watch for signs, and make sure they’re in the correct lane for their destination.”

Johnson says by summer you’ll have five lanes each way instead of four. “Drivers can choose any of the four lanes and cross the bridge as they would normally, but we’re encouraging drivers that are heading to Coquitlam using exit 44 for Lougheed highway, to stay to the far right.”

In the coming months, similar changes will be made for eastbound traffic.



I live in Surrey and work in Poco so I'm a big fan of this especially with all the idiots trying to cut in at the very front every morning.

[meme405]

Looks like some interesting changes are going to be happening again this weekend

New patterns coming into effect on the Port Mann Bridge | News1130 (http://www.news1130.com/2015/01/28/new-patterns-coming-into-effect-on-the-port-mann-bridge/)



I live in Surrey and work in Poco so I'm a big fan of this especially with all the idiots trying to cut in at the very front every morning.

They need to do this westbound through the Cassiar, Fucking idiots take the mcgill exit lane all the way through the tunnel and cut the patiently waiting people off to get onto the 2nd narrows. I guess their time is just more valuable then everyone else's.

[mb_]

They need to do this westbound through the Cassiar, Fucking idiots take the mcgill exit lane all the way through the tunnel and cut the patiently waiting people off to get onto the 2nd narrows. I guess their time is just more valuable then everyone else's.

I got cut off twice this morning cause of that shit, really annoying. I'm driving my winter beater so I don't care if you hit me!!! :flamemad:

[quasi]

I got cut off twice this morning cause of that shit, really annoying. I'm driving my winter beater so I don't care if you hit me!!! :flamemad:

LOL, I miss my work truck for that you want to hit me go ahead but choooo chooo I'm coming through.

[UFO]

They need to do this westbound through the Cassiar, Fucking idiots take the mcgill exit lane all the way through the tunnel and cut the patiently waiting people off to get onto the 2nd narrows. I guess their time is just more valuable then everyone else's.

assholes are just going to be assholes. They can 'fix' every merger or exit and assholes will still find a way to be assholes

[murd0c]

Finally this is coming into effect, So happy I don't need to worry about people budging into my lane last minute when I go to work in the morning

Major traffic pattern change coming to Port Mann Bridge this weekend | News1130 (http://www.news1130.com/2015/03/03/major-traffic-pattern-change-coming-to-port-mann-bridge-this-weekend/)

COQUITLAM (NEWS1130) – Big changes are coming for westbound traffic on the Port Mann Bridge this weekend.

Full lane-separation takes effect Saturday, meaning two lanes on the bridge bound for Lougheed Highway will be split from three through-lanes using concrete barriers.

An interim system has been in place for a few weeks now, but the changes mean you’ll have to decide in Surrey whether you’ll exit for Coquitlam or continue on Highway 1 toward Burnaby and Vancouver.

Similar changes for eastbound traffic are planned in the coming weeks, as crews prepare the crossing for its full 10-lane configuration. HOV drivers needing to access Lougheed Highway will need to move to the far right well before the 152nd Street interchange.

[melloman]

Finally this is coming into effect, So happy I don't need to worry about people budging into my lane last minute when I go to work in the morning

"HOV drivers needing to access Lougheed Highway will need to move to the far right well before the 152nd Street interchange."

Major traffic pattern change coming to Port Mann Bridge this weekend | News1130 (http://www.news1130.com/2015/03/03/major-traffic-pattern-change-coming-to-port-mann-bridge-this-weekend/)

Hmm.. So if I take 152nd overpass and get onto Highway 1, I can't go to Lougheed Hwy? :suspicious: wat.

[murd0c]

Hmm.. So if I take 152nd overpass and get onto Highway 1, I can't go to Lougheed Hwy? :suspicious: wat.

Yes you can, there will be 4 different lanes and the far right lane will take you to lougheed hwy and the bypass. They are talking about being on hwy #1 you need to move to the far right before hand.

[UFO]

Finally this is coming into effect, So happy I don't need to worry about people budging into my lane last minute when I go to work in the morning

Major traffic pattern change coming to Port Mann Bridge this weekend | News1130 (http://www.news1130.com/2015/03/03/major-traffic-pattern-change-coming-to-port-mann-bridge-this-weekend/)

realistically, the budging will just happen further back in Surrey. Sorry but douches will be douches

[hchang]

Not sure if people know but you can take the coquitlam exits to prevent going down Johnson hill with two lanes merging into one

Jump into the left lane (152 westbound on ramp) and you will rejoin onto the bridge being in the centre lane

[Soundy]

realistically, the budging will just happen further back in Surrey. Sorry but douches will be douches

Yes, but you won't have everyone from Hwy. 1 *and* everyone from 152nd grouped together onto the bridge and then budging in and out of the exit lanes mid-span. Cars from 152nd will also have to decide whether or not they're getting off at Cape Horn, BEFORE they get onto the bridge.

Realistically, there's something about bridges that lower driving IQ about twenty points and people seem particularly prone to either panic or confusion (or both) while going over a bridge... so, you move that decision of which destination they want to BEFORE they get onto the bridge, and you're hopefully removing the panic, reducing the confusion, and moving what confusion is left, to where its effect on traffic flow is less.

[murd0c]

So I just received an email from Treo and tolls are going up toe $3.15 each way starting mid Aug... I swear I'm going to blow up Treo offices fucken tired of them screwing us.

[meme405]

So I just received an email from Treo and tolls are going up toe $3.15 each way starting mid Aug... I swear I'm going to blow up Treo offices fucken tired of them screwing us.

If you blow up their offices i'm pretty sure the tolls are going to go up A LOT more than 15 cents...:whistle:

[melloman]

This is why I live on the West side of the Fraser. Move to Pitt Meadows and don't pay any tolls. :toot:

[yray]

So I have a 3 dollar credit for double paying for my car... now they are going to charge my mastercard .15 cents :suspicious:

[fliptuner]

I didn't realize the cost for a tractor/trailer is that high

https://blu174.mail.live.com/Handlers/ImageProxy.mvc?bicild=&canary=pMOsV3YOrHpk76NKgI6ElXKOWlrJa%2biVi7%2bNsha POW4%3d0&url=http%3a%2f%2fticorp.upaknee.com%2feditor_image s%2fimage_5502a35f%2ffiles%2fTReO_Price_Increase_A ssets-04.jpg

[UFO]

All the big rigs driving in the middle of 2 lanes on the patullo did

[inv4zn]

I was talking about this with a coworker today, who takes the Port Mann everyday - obviously he's pissed. He also bet me that they're going to raise it further when we get closer to the closure next year.

Why is it that people who get paid a lot, can't seem to realize that usage is down because the cost is high? Raising the price further may make you look better in short term spreadsheets and PR events, but in the long-run, is asinine.

BC Ferries, Canada Post, TREO - they all bitch that nobody is using their service, so they're forced to jack up prices. If the fucking dingbats realized that people would use it more if it were more affordable.

Incredibly ironically, the only public corporation in recent memory that lowered their fees was ICBC lol.

[6o4__boi]

^ i've always wondered about that
i don't have an economics or business oriented background but doesn't it make more sense to lower prices and watch users increase and let that drive the business model?

at the very least, introduce some sort of really cheap introductory rate to hook users in and then when they realize their life would suck without it then up the prices

i wanna know what the reasoning is behind (not just bridges) but other businesses overall raising their prices to retarded levels then bitching about the lack of customers/users.

[inv4zn]

^My uneducated guess would be because by raising prices, people that have no choice but to use that service, would continue to do so at higher cost.

Then, the numbers (in the short term) would show recovery, and they can all pat themselves on the back and get bonuses and raises.

But in the long term, more and more people will find alternatives, and stop using the service alltogether.

As a personal example, I used to send out Christmas cards every year because it's exponentially more personal and heartfelt than sending an e-mail, or some stupid e-card.

Now, I don't.

[6o4__boi]

yeah, but in this day and age, there are always alternatives.

if my favorite restaurant upped its prices by (what a majority of people would consider) unreasonable amounts then I would simply stop going.
Same could be said with clothing stores and other services. If Netflix upped its prices to $15 next month, i'm finding another alternative or i'll go back to pirating. There are always options.

I don't know if big businesses are just slow to catch on but as stupid as this generation can be at times, we're pretty resourceful in a sense that we'll go out of our ways to stretch our dollar, particularly in a place like BC.

The Bay is a great example of this...how they're still in business is nothing short of a miracle.

[vitaminG]

i take the bridge nearly every weekday. i am more than happy to pay the $3 in exchange for the time i save in commuting, $6 a month more makes little difference to me at all.

what does suck is now when i have to take the pattulo or alex fraser and they are packed now. i think the govt needs to get rid of the one free crossing policy and implement tolls on all bridges, they can put the money towards translink or whatever, i just want to see fewer people on the road and shorter commutes and i dont mind paying $100 a month to see that happen

[inv4zn]

While logical, if the government imposed tolls on every bridge across the Fraser, there will most definitely be a riot.

[meme405]

i take the bridge nearly every weekday. i am more than happy to pay the $3 in exchange for the time i save in commuting, $6 a month more makes little difference to me at all.

If you are using the bridge every weekday you aren't pay $6 a month. You are paying 6 bucks a day. AKA 240 bucks a month.

I ultimately don't give a fuck, I use the bridge less than 10 times a month. I don't even think twice about trying to re-route myself over the patullo, even if it might be just as feasible.

What does upset me is all these people saying "Toll every bridge in the region, that's more fair".

FUCK YOU. In your eyes im sure that does seem more fair, yet what you don't see is the fact that I spend my days crossing the 2nd narrows which is an ancient ass bridge, that now is backed up every fucking day because of how easily cars flow over the new port mann and through the lake stretch. I never used to deal with any traffic before this construction.

And the other most used crossing of mine is that ridiculous heap of shit 3 lane bridge, called the lions gate.

When I can get a bridge with atleast 4 lanes, then you can feel free to toll it. Until then just shut the fuck up, cause fairness is all a matter of perspective.

[6o4__boi]

lol i've yet to cross the new Port Mann
:fuckthatshit:

[Urrtoast]

lol i've yet to cross the new Port Mann
:fuckthatshit:

Same Have not crossed it yet. Nor Golden Ears

[inv4zn]

If you are using the bridge every weekday you aren't pay $6 a month. You are paying 6 bucks a day. AKA 240 bucks a month.

I ultimately don't give a fuck, I use the bridge less than 10 times a month. I don't even think twice about trying to re-route myself over the patullo, even if it might be just as feasible.

What does upset me is all these people saying "Toll every bridge in the region, that's more fair".

FUCK YOU. In your eyes im sure that does seem more fare, yet what you don't see is the fact that I spend my days crossing the 2nd narrows which is an ancient ass bridge, that now is backed up every fucking day because of how easily cars flow over the new port mann and through the lake stretch. I never used to deal with any traffic before this construction.

And the other most used crossing of mine is that ridiculous heap of shit 3 lane bridge, called the lions gate.

When I can get a bridge with atleast 4 lanes, then you can feel free to toll it. Until then just shut the fuck up, cause fairness is all a matter of perspective.

lol, guy, read his post carefully - he's talking about the increase. He's already paying $240 a month. Extra 15 cents per crossing, 30 cents per day, 20 days a month, is 6 MORE dollars.

Also, I understand it's a rant (and I'd be pretty angry too if I had to sit in second-narrows traffic daily), but you aren't making any points. All you did there was, in all honesty, just bitch.

Vancouver is fucked, no matter how you look at it. Traffic sucks, and the best way to fix it, was to give more funding, but nobody wanted to do it because Translink is a shitshow. So what should we do, to quell your anger? Prohibit certain license plates from driving on certain days, ala China? Toll every bridge, tunnel, intersection?

Again, I understand your anger, but venting on a discussion forum without any actual discussion just makes you seem like an entitled ass.

I will agree with you however, with the Lions Gate part. Fuck that bridge.

[Coren]

How do you get currently $240 a month?
$3 per way at 20 days is $120/month
Or you can get unlimited monthly pass for $150/month

$3.15 per way at 20 days is $126
I'm going to assume monthly pass is going to also go up 5% so it will be $157.50/month

nowhere close to $240 a month

[meme405]

How do you get currently $240 a month?
$3 per way at 20 days is $120/month
Or you can get unlimited monthly pass for $150/month

Because when you cross the bridge I presume that you eventually plan to go home...:rukidding:

[6o4__boi]

Same Have not crossed it yet. Nor Golden Ears

i've never even SEEN the fucking Golden Ears bridge in my life lol

Oh man, Lion's Gate...people would have to pay me to go through that shitway

[Coren]

Because when you cross the bridge I presume that you eventually plan to go home...:rukidding:

Assuming crossing only 20 working days a month
$3 1 way at 20 trips = $60
$3 at 40 trips (twice a day) = $120

[meme405]

lol, guy, read his post carefully - he's talking about the increase. He's already paying $240 a month. Extra 15 cents per crossing, 30 cents per day, 20 days a month, is 6 MORE dollars.

Also, I understand it's a rant (and I'd be pretty angry too if I had to sit in second-narrows traffic daily), but you aren't making any points. All you did there was, in all honesty, just bitch.

Vancouver is fucked, no matter how you look at it. Traffic sucks, and the best way to fix it, was to give more funding, but nobody wanted to do it because Translink is a shitshow. So what should we do, to quell your anger? Prohibit certain license plates from driving on certain days, ala China? Toll every bridge, tunnel, intersection?

Again, I understand your anger, but venting on a discussion forum without any actual discussion just makes you seem like an entitled ass.

I will agree with you however, with the Lions Gate part. Fuck that bridge.

My post was a response to those who say that "every bridge or tunnel in the area should be tolled to make it fair".

It added to the discussion, because it forced you to respond to it.

I provided no solutions, because I don't have them, I'm just saying that if the government plans on trying to toll residents of the north shore, they better be damn well ready to do a lot more for us then give us 1 new seabus.

Assuming crossing only 20 working days a month
$3 1 way at 20 trips = $60
$3 at 40 trips (twice a day) = $120

Sorry I got fucked up, because of the $6 in his post, you are correct $120 a month.

Look at that I just saved you fukers $120 a month. YOU"RE WELCOME! :toot:

[fliptuner]

What I got from the last 10 posts:

-meme can't math
-all the other bridges suck
-604_boi doesn't cross any bridges

Got it

:troll:

[originalhypa]

I would support tolling everything if it was cheap. A buck per crossing would actually save me money by spreading the taxation around to everyone. I mean, if we're going to be socialists, then let's go all in.

I hate the tolls as they stand. I cross often, and it gets expensive at the end of the month. But it is nice to not have to sit in that traffic.

Then there is north van....
the iron workers, and the lions gate are archaic. I always get stuck there regardless of day or night.

[6o4__boi]

What I got from the last 10 posts:

-meme can't math
-all the other bridges suck
-604_boi doesn't cross any bridges

Got it

:troll:

and murdoc will go Rambo on Treo offices
:troll:

[murd0c]

and murdoc will go Rambo on Treo offices
:troll:

http://i.imgur.com/xyNpfq4.jpg

[hotjoint]

These idiots can't seem to realize that less people are taking their stupid bridge because the damn toll is a rip off. Let's increase it and watch even less people take it instead of decreasing the price to attract people.

[Tone Loc]

I personally would not mind paying a small toll fee to cross the bridges in the Lower Mainland if it meant that these bridges - specifically the Second Narrows, Knight Street, and Lions Gate - were expanded to fit more lanes of traffic...

Just comes with the costs of owning a car. Don't like it, take public transit.

[noclue]

I don't mind tolls after going for a drive in the east coast.

BRB
$14 to enter NYC
$43 to go from NJ to Washington DC
$9-13 from Markham to YYZ
Florida is reasonable around $1-$3

It's either higher tolls or property/sales taxes...

[fliptuner]

Are those daily commutes?

[meme405]

Are those daily commutes?

NJ to NY is a daily commute for many people. $12.50 toll each way for the lincoln tunnel and other similar crossings.

With everyone saying "lower the price more people will use it" and variations thereof: you don't think that the people managing the bridge have done some sort of calculation, tracking, polling, etc. to determine where they set the price?

Yeah of course if they lower the toll to 50 cents everyone will take that bridge, but literally the number of cars on the bridge would have to increase 6 fold to make up the difference. I highly doubt that would happen.

Even then most cheapasses would still drive extra to go to the patullo, because they are dumb.

The $3 toll was not an arbitrary figure, and the cost increases are simply to account for inflation and the maintenance needs as the bridge and network infrastructure ages.

EDIT:

Actually thats a great point. Since december of 2013 tolls over the lincoln tunnel have gone from $8 to their current rate of $9.50 per crossing.

Now bare with me here, my math has failed me once today already:

9.50 vs 8 is an increase of 18% (And that's rounding favorably).

3.15 vs 3 is only an increase of 5%

So actually compared to most of NY you guys are way the fuck ahead. I'd shut the fuck up before those clowns at treo really pour the pain on.

MORE EDIT: I fucked up, don't know what data I was looking at, but here:

http://www.panynj.gov/bridges-tunnels/pdf/toll-table-2001-2015.pdf

It's actually even worse 11.00 vs 12.75 for a single vehicle with single rear tires. Thats a 16% difference still vs our 5%.

[Bouncing Bettys]

Treo employs the highly successful BC Ferries business plan. Brilliant.
http://33.media.tumblr.com/bfd472f308afa872b1b3425b9795e2db/tumblr_mm1bw9lEqa1rjk21uo1_400.gif

[noclue]

NJ to NY is a daily commute for many people. $12.50 toll each way for the lincoln tunnel and other similar crossings.



It's actually $12.50 to enter, i believe exiting is free. And that price is only with an EZ pass which costs money and you need to choose a certain plan. Otherwise it's $14-15 now :O

I wouldn't mind a toll for all entry into the downtown core. Lions gate bridge is mostly used by West/North Vancouver residents who theoretically have higher income so I wouldn't mind that being tolled too. At the very least you'll see less civics revving down robson street.

But man it sucks for people living south of the fraser river. Patullo, George Massey Replacement bridge is all going to be tolled.

[fliptuner]

NJ to NY is a daily commute for many people. $12.50 toll each way for the lincoln tunnel .....snip

The tolls for Holland and Lincoln are only 1 way, going into NYC. The price also decreases during off-peak hours.

Regardless, I'm all for faster commute time, even at a cost.

[meme405]

The tolls for Holland and Lincoln are only 1 way, going into NYC. The price also decreases during off-peak hours.

Regardless, I'm all for faster commute time, even at a cost.

I vividly remember paying both ways (it was just this past august my memory ain't that bad). What the fuck. I must have pooched that. God damnit.

Lions gate bridge is mostly used by West/North Vancouver residents who theoretically have higher income so I wouldn't mind that being tolled too.

This is:

#1 - an utterly blanket statement, which does not accurately portray all, or even the majority of the residents on the north shore. Where are you even comparing them to? Houses in north burnaby and most areas of vancouver are just as expensive as the north shore. Everyone seems to have this general idea that everyone on the shore lives in a mansion and we all just spend our days having high tea, and eating caviar. That's entirely incorrect.

#2 - The north shore paid for the lions gate already, the bridge was built by private funding, and was tolled until 1963. Then the government took it over, and even since then things like the lights were paid for privately. All the government has done is improvements and maintenance on the bridge.

#3 - The residents of north and west van already get hammered on fee's taxes, and many other things from which they see absolutely zero benefit. There is a growing movement to put an end to this shit. How much longer is the rest of vancouver going to punish the north shore for the simple fact that you perceive us to be wealthy?

[fliptuner]

Tolls - Bridges & Tunnels - The Port Authority of NY & NJ (http://www.panynj.gov/bridges-tunnels/tolls.html)

All rates apply to the Lincoln & Holland tunnels, the George Washington, Bayonne & Goethals bridges, and the Outerbridge Crossing. Tolls are collected entering New York. No tolls are collected entering New Jersey.

[Lomac]

^^
Because who the fuck would willingly pay to enter New Jersey?

And, yes, the tolls in Vancouver are diiiiiirt cheap compared to many places, NY especially. My dad just got back from NY, actually. He spent ~$200 in tolls in just over a week driving between NY and NJ.

Makes the $3.15 fee here sound almost pitiful, no?

[6o4__boi]

^^
Because who the fuck would willingly pay to enter New Jersey?


:lawl:
qft

hard to use them as comparison though just considering the population density there among other factors.

i'm all for tolling if it means better roads and less rush hour madness but with the crippling inability of translink and the MOT to get shit done, i doubt we'll ever see a meaningful, coordinated, on-budget, on-time plan to improve how we get around.

[fliptuner]

^^
Because who the fuck would willingly pay to enter New Jersey?


uhhh...people who live in Jersey?

Replace New Jersey with Surrey, Langley or Abbotsford, same thing lol.

I think a good way to encourage people to take the bridge and ease congestion, is to change the toll rates based on traffic flow and/or time of day, such as in Washington.

WSDOT - I-405 Express Toll Lanes - Rates (http://wsdot.wa.gov/Tolling/405/rates.htm#Destination)
WSDOT - SR 520 Bridge Toll Rates (http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Tolling/520/520tollrates.htm)

[6o4__boi]

just charge a ridiculously low introductory rate
routine is a powerful thing.

case in point,
my spotify premium just expired, freaked out for a moment and actually thought about paying $10 a month
then i realized i can just use another email for another 3 months at 99 cents

i wouldn't even consider spotify for a millisecond at $10/month. That 99 cent intro rate turned that millisecond into a moment's contemplation.
imagine what that would do to bridge users.
"fuck it, i've been using the bridge for X months, what's another extra X a month..."

[UFO]

The bridge was 1.50 for the first number of months, maybe even a year? There were even a couple of free crossings thrown in there. As I recall, usership was still below expected even with the half price introductory rate.

If you offer intro pricing for all 'new' users, cheap f's will find a way to exploit the system case in point.

Really, ppl are complaining about $.15?? You see a nickel and a dime on the street, you pick it up? I don't think parking meters even take nickels and dimes anymore...

[StylinRed]

Or you know they could charge a reasonable rate like $0.50-1.00 depending on time of day
@$6.30-$12.60 a day many people are working one hour a day just for their toll... and if they're on min wage they'd be working 2hrs a day for the toll

[MG1]

You see a nickel and a dime on the street, you pick it up?

I do. It's money.

I didn't get to where I am today with that kind of attitude. Every penny counts. From 16 years of growing up in the DTES with nothing, working multiple jobs, raising three kids and putting two of them through university on single income to owning a new house in Burnaby and three cars............... damn right I've picked up a few coins and pop containers off the street in my lifetime.

[UFO]

I do. It's money.

I didn't get to where I am today with that kind of attitude. Every penny counts. From 16 years of growing up in the DTES with nothing, working multiple jobs, raising three kids and putting two of them through university on single income to owning a new house in Burnaby and three cars............... damn right I've picked up a few coins and pop containers off the street in my lifetime.

Great story, I'm really happy things worked out for but what is 'that kind of attitude'? I hope you're not implying ppl who don't pick up random change and pop cans on the street don't work hard...

My underlying point, nothing more or less, was that ppl are mad at the current toll and not the $0.15 toll increase. The increase just provides the platform for ppl to bitch and complain about the same old thing, with a slightly fresher twist. And ppl in this city love to bitch, it's what we do. Those who are happily or begrudgingly taking the bridge and paying the $3 toll, will continue to do so paying $3.15 for the forseeable future

[murd0c]

its more the principal of the matter of why are we getting charged extra when the other city's are not? I take it twice a day to work and I'm tired of people telling me to move if I don't like it because I enjoy where I lived and I'm still livid with them tolling the #1 highway..

[Hondaracer]

Well, if you take it every day and had been since before the new bridge was built, I'd say you should be happy you're saving hours off your commute every week for a small fee.

Dad worked downtown and I was full time at BCIT prior to the bridge and the new highway and bridge literally saved 5-8 HOURS a week, hard to beat that

With that said shortly after the new rates came into effect I moved to burnaby lol so I don't feel the pain as much

[StylinRed]

My underlying point, nothing more or less, was that ppl are mad at the current toll and not the $0.15 toll increase. The increase just provides the platform for ppl to bitch and complain about the same old thing, with a slightly fresher twist. And ppl in this city love to bitch, it's what we do. Those who are happily or begrudgingly taking the bridge and paying the $3 toll, will continue to do so paying $3.15 for the forseeable future

people need to stop referring to the toll as $3.00 or the increase as $0.15 since the majority of people who take it are from Surrey they need to travel out of and back in to surrey, the same day... so the toll is $6.00 and the increase is $0.30

[UFO]

We all have choices. If you don't want to pay the $3 toll, because that's what it is, take the patullo or Alex Fraser for your return trip. What's your time worth to you?

Or buy a 3 zone bus pass and ride the bridge for free

[Lomac]

I used to make the commute from South Langley to Capilano University many, many moons ago. Even as a student, I would have gladly paid the current toll rate for the extra two hours (round trip) I would have saved. And the current 15 cent hike? Whoooo, that's the price of one Starbucks coffee a month. Not that hard to find that sort of change over the span of an entire month.

[Tapioca]

Infrastructure costs money, so you either pay it through taxes or user fees. The Liberals have kept taxes low and have opted to raise user fees instead. But on the other hand, if those darn politicians and bureaucrats made half of what they make, we could have it all - detached homes and free roads!

IMHO, if you live in Surrey and are complaining about the tolls, you're better off moving to Squamish. Gotta swim with the current, instead of trying to swim against it.

[meme405]

Today makes 3 consecutive fridays, where the ironworkers bridge has been completely fucked. Today's traffic nightmare; a semi stuck on the bridge deck for like 2 hours starting at 4pm (and currently on going), and multiple other accidents all over highway 1 from kensington all the way to the bridge (in both directions).

Fuck the people from Surrey, langley, delta, richmond and all these other places wanting burnaby and north shore residents to pay a toll to go over our old 60 y/o infrastruture. If you get a new bridge, like the golden ears, portmann, or when they finally replace the massey and the patullo, you fucking pay for it.

When we here get any sort of rapid transit or a new bridge, I will happily pay a toll in order to use it.

Seriously pissed off still sitting at work just wanting to go home. But I don't want to spend my next 1.5 hours driving 10km home.

[Not really racist!]

Its an absolute mess out there

[meme405]

Last weekend Lions Gate had an emergency water main shut down which meant there was only 1 lane northbound all weekend. Traffic was fucked even at 10pm on a saturday.

Today Lions gate is fucked. Crash northbound on the Ironworkers, and getting on and off the north shore is completely tooled yet again.

[Hondaracer]

yea fuck north shore is a gong show.. even going to the transfer station at like 1pm coming back south was fucked 2/3 days i went..

[6o4__boi]

B.C.Highway Cams (http://images.drivebc.ca/bchighwaycam/pub/html/www/113.html)

:heckno:

Nasty shit going NB on hwy 1. Backed up solid from Kensington
It's like people forgot how to drive this week.
hwy 1 EB during afternoon rush hour this week was fucked every day so far too.

[Hondaracer]

HWY 1 going eastbound on a thursday afternoon or friday after work honestly deters me from going to the cabin/outside of the lower mainland

its sooo fucking brutal -all- the time... if there was no traffic at all you could drive from surrey to kamloops in like 3 hours, with the fucking 200th-chilliwack traffic jams you probably add an hour to your drive every single time.

[meme405]

I jsut found out Lions gate northbound is gonna be fucked again this weekend.

1 northbound lane, 2 southboud, from 8pm tonight all the way to monday morning.

WTF.

[fliptuner]

At 3pm, hwy1 eastbound was backed up to Taylor :fuckthatshit:

Uhhh.....I think I'll work til 6 lol