George Massey Tunnel Replacement Project Project Update Corporation of Delta Council January 9, 2017
Existing Challenges Collisions Impacts on: Congestion People Unreliability Goods Seismic vulnerability Jobs Tunnel dimensions Tourism sub-standard Transit users No capacity for cycling or walking
Traffic Analysis: Northbound Traffic 3 Vancouver 40% Burnaby/ New Westminster 1% ORIGIN DESTINATION Richmond 59% George Massey Tunnel Tilbury 8% North Delta/Surrey 19% Deltaport 2% Ladner 17% Tsawwassen 19% U.S. Border/ White Rock/ South Surrey 35%
What Happens at the Oak Street Bridge? 4 Morning queues will continue as today; traffic patterns may change somewhat but no significant change in total traffic 60% of tunnel users end their trip in Richmond Efficiency of Oak Street Bridge will continue to be governed by traffic lights at 70 th Avenue in Vancouver Rush-hour traffic volumes on the Oak Street Bridge have been constant/declining since Canada Line in effect
Traffic Analysis: Southbound Traffic Vancouver 34% Burnaby/ New Westminster 1% ORIGIN DESTINATION Richmond 65% George Massey Tunnel Tilbury 7% North Delta/Surrey 21% Deltaport 2% Ladner/ Tsawwassen 34% U.S. Border/ White Rock/ South Surrey 36%
Options Analysis Phase 2 Consultation 8 ALIGNMENT EFFECTS AGRICULTURAL PARKLAND RESIDENTIAL/COMMERCIAL MARINE
Stakeholder Engagement 9 Public Information Office Storefront venue with models, display boards and info 5200 visitors since 2014 2600 email update subscribers Stakeholder meetings and presentations City of Richmond (115 meetings) Corporation of Delta (111 meetings) Metro Vancouver (41 meetings) Other stakeholders (450+ meetings)
Project Overview 10 Bridgeport Road to Highway 91 Construct new 3.3 km bridge (8 lanes plus 2 transit/hov lanes) 24 km highway improvements Cost: $3.5 billion Funded through user tolls Procurement: 30-year public private partnership 50 lane-km new dedicated transit/hov lanes Replace three interchanges and five overpasses Bike and pedestrian pathways Allow for future rapid transit Decommission Tunnel
Transit 11 50 km of new dedicated transit lanes Transit stops integrated with the Steveston Highway and Highway 17A interchanges Dedicated transit ramp from Highway 99 to Bridgeport Road Safe and reliable transit access to Canada Line at Bridgeport Station Allowance for future rapid transit on the new bridge Highway 99 is already a major transit route One bus through the tunnel every 3-4 minutes More than 10,000 transit riders daily through the tunnel Highest transit use of any Fraser River road crossing
Bridge 12
Bridge 13 3.3km long 658m clear span over the Fraser River 205m high towers 2-way navigation channel with 57m clearance Built to last 125-years Design for maintenance and operations Snow and ice management 40,000 trucks of concrete 50,000t of rebar 30,000t of steel 66km of pile length 185,000t of asphalt 300,000t of gravel
Why Five Lanes in Each Direction? 14 1 Dedicated transit/hov lanes 3 Regular traffic lanes (same as today in rush hour) 1 Lane for slow, merging traffic Benefits: Improved merging safety Reduced weaving Reduced congestion/increased reliability Improved emergency response access Four lanes in each direction would result in congestion on opening day
Navigation River Depth Effects 15
Highway 17A 16
Environmental Assessment 17 Application for EA Certificate 2016 Currently in up to 180-day review period 60-day Public Comment period Open Houses, online and written comments Technical Working Group EAO recommendation to Minister early 2017
Agricultural Land and Use 18 Net benefits to farming: Improvements to drainage and ditch water quality Topsoil salvage program No net loss of ALR land Movement of large farm equipment over new bridge Improved service and safety for farm vehicles crossing Highway 99 Improved access to markets Improved safety for farm equipment mobility No long-term effects to salt wedge/irrigation systems
Agricultural Use Delta 19
Tunnel Decommissioning 20
Tunnel Decommissioning 21 Immersed tube tunnel construction in the Netherlands
Environmental Enhancements 22
South Approach - Green Slough 23
Schedule 24 Communication & Engagement Planning Environmental Assessment Consultation Procurement Design, Construction, Tunnel Decommissioning 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Discussion