LANGLEY, B.C. — The British Columbia Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure has announced major upgrades to Highway 1 in Langley, B.C. between 216th and 264th streets.
The highway-widening project, which includes high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) and electric vehicle lanes and a new 232nd Street interchange, is now out to tender, stated a recent release.
A new HOV lane will be added in each direction between the 216th Street and 264th Street interchanges, with the new lanes added toward the median.
The 232nd Street Interchange in Langley links Highway 1 to Highway 10. The existing 232nd Street interchange will be replaced and reconfigured to improve capacity and increase the height clearance over Highway 1.
The new crossing will include three-metre-wide multi-use pathways in both directions.
It’s the second of three construction contracts for phase two of the Fraser Valley Highway 1 Corridor Improvement Program between 216th and 264th streets. West of 232nd Street, construction is underway on the new Glover Road crossing over Highway 1, with completion expected by summer 2024. The nearby CPKC Rail overhead will also be replaced with a higher structure.
Advance work for Phase 3A and 3B through Abbotsford is underway. The phase involves property acquisition, utility relocation, median soil removal, tree clearing and preloading of soil between 264th Street and Highway 11.
A new 264th Street Interchange is also in procurement, with additional major works tenders between 264th Street and Mt. Lehman Road anticipated this spring.
The Highway 1 216th to 264th Street Widening Project is valued at $345 million. The federal government is contributing $96 million to the project through the New Building Canada Fund, with the remainder of funding from the Province of B.C.
If the goal is to get traffic moving, my waste valuable real estate dedicating specific lanes to HOV and EV cars? That doesn’t change anything about all the rest of the “regular ‘ cars that still will remain in two lanes. Get the traffic moving four lanes each side, trucks stay on the right and it’s a free-for-all.