This weekend marks the beginning of the end for the old Port Mann Bridge.
Westbound traffic will be shifted to the new Port Mann starting this weekend, with vehicles being routed in a two-lane configuration beginning overnight on Saturday.
This traffic pattern will remain in place as road crews continue to widen and improve the Cape Horn Interchange at the north end of the bridge.
The interchange is set to be completed by December 1, and more then 20 kilometres of new HOV lanes extending east from the bridge to Langley are expected to be in operation at that time as well.
The new Port Mann Bridge is set to open to eight full lanes of traffic on December 1. Tolling will begin after one free week on December 8.
“When construction began more than four years ago, we said we’d open this bridge and give drivers some relief by December of 2012,” said Mary Polak, Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure. “We’ve been asking drivers to ‘hang in there’ for years. Now a faster, more efficient Port Mann Bridge and Highway 1 are just around the corner.”
Tolls for crossing the bridge will start at an introductory rate of $1.50 per crossing for cars, trucks and SUVs less than six metres long and 2.3 metres high. The rate will be in effect until December 2013 if vehicles register by February 28, 2013. The standard rate is $3 per crossing.
Drivers can register their vehicles for tolling with TReO at www.treo.ca.
