Port Mann Bridge

About

The Port Mann Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge that crosses the Fraser River in the Greater Vancouver region of British Columbia, Canada. It carries 10 lanes of Highway 1 (itself part of the Trans-Canada Highway) and connects Coquitlam to Surrey. The bridge opened to traffic in 2012 and includes space reserved for a potential light rail line. The bridge carried an average of 179,435 vehicles per day in 2025 and is the busiest bridge in Canada. The cable-stayed bridge replaced a steel arch bridge that spanned the Fraser River from 1963 to 2012. After its successor was opened to traffic, the old bridge was demolished by reverse construction, a process which took three years to complete.

The original Port Mann Bridge opened on June 12, 1964. It was named after the community of Port Mann, through which the south end of the bridge passed. The old bridge consisted of three spans with an orthotropic deck carrying five lanes (originally four lanes) of Trans-Canada Highway traffic, with approach spans of three steel plate girders and concrete deck. The total length of the arch bridge was 2,093 m (6,867 ft), including approach spans. The main span was 366 m (1,201 ft), plus the two 110 m (360 ft) spans on either side. Volume on the old bridge was 127,000 trips per day. Approximately 8 percent of the traffic on the Port Mann bridge was truck traffic. The old bridge was the longest arch bridge [ clarification needed ] in Canada and third-longest in the world at the time of its inauguration.

At the time of construction, it was the most expensive piece of highway in Canada.

In 2001, an eastbound HOV lane was added by moving the centre divider and by cantilevering the bridge deck outwards in conjunction with a seismic upgrade.

On January 31, 2006, the British Columbia Ministry of Transportation introduced the Gateway Program as a means to address growing congestion. The project originally envisioned twinning the Port Mann Bridge by building a second bridge adjacent to it, but the project was changed to building a 10-lane replacement bridge, planned to be the widest in the world, and demolishing the original bridge. While the old bridge was found to be in "excellent shape, it is a fracture-critical structure with a tension member that runs the full length of the bridge. If that fractures anywhere, the bridge’s structural safety can be compromised heavily...There is no built-in redundancy [in this type of bridge]. It only takes a little undetected fatigue crack to grow for 10 years and then a member eventually just snaps through one cold morning when the wrong size truck rolls over it”.

A number of groups lobbied to improve public transit rather than build a new bridge. Burnaby city council, Vancouver city council, and directors of the GVRD (now Metro Vancouver) passed resolutions opposing the Port Mann / Highway 1 expansion. Opponents of the expansion included local environmental groups, urban planners, and Washington state 's Sightline Institute.

Opponents argued that increasing highway capacity would increase greenhouse gas emissions and only relieve congestion for a few years before increased traffic congested the area again, and that expanding road capacity would encourage suburban sprawl. The Livable Region Coalition urged the Minister of Transportation, Kevin Falcon, to consider rapid transit lines and improved bus routes instead of building the new bridge. The David Suzuki Foundation claimed the plan violated the goals of Metro Vancouver's Livable Region Strategic Plan.

The Port Mann / Highway 1 project added another HOV lane along with cycling and pedestrian access. The multi-use pedestrian/bicycle path opened July 1, 2015. A bus service was reintroduced over the Port Mann Bridge for the first time in over 20 years. However, critics claimed that the new bridge only delayed the reintroduction of bus service on the bridge. The new express bus service is now operated in the HOV lanes along Highway 1 from Langley to Burnaby.

The estimated construction cost was $2.46 billion, including the cost of the Highway 1 upgrade, a total of 37 kilometres (23 mi). Of this, the bridge itself comprised roughly a third ($820 million). The total cost, including operation and maintenance, was expected to be $3.3 billion. Now that the new bridge is completed, the existing bridge, which was more than 45 years old, has been taken down.

The project was intended to be funded by using a public-private partnership, and Connect B.C. Development Group was chosen as the preferred developer. The Connect B.C. Group included the Macquarie Group, Transtoll Inc., Peter Kiewit Sons Co., and Flatiron Constructors. Although a memorandum of understanding had been signed by the province, final terms could not be agreed upon. As a consequence, the province decided to fund the entire cost of replacement.

On September 18, 2012, the new Port Mann Bridge opened to eastbound traffic. At 65 metres (213 ft) wide, it was the world's widest long-span bridge, according to the Guinness World Records, overtaking the world-famous Sydney Harbour Bridge, which, at 49 metres (161 ft), held the record since 1932. The Port Mann Bridge was overtaken by the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge in 2013.

Work to dismantle the old Port Mann Bridge began in December 2012. Crews removed sections of the bridge piece by piece in opposite order in which they were originally constructed, starting with the road deck, followed by the bridge approach's girders, and concluding with the steel arch. It was fully removed by October 21, 2015.

A number of groups lobbied to improve public transit rather than build a new bridge. Burnaby city council, Vancouver city council, and directors of the GVRD (now Metro Vancouver) passed resolutions opposing the Port Mann / Highway 1 expansion. Opponents of the expansion included local environmental groups, urban planners, and Washington state 's Sightline Institute.

Opponents argued that increasing highway capacity would increase greenhouse gas emissions and only relieve congestion for a few years before increased traffic congested the area again, and that expanding road capacity would encourage suburban sprawl. The Livable Region Coalition urged the Minister of Transportation, Kevin Falcon, to consider rapid transit lines and improved bus routes instead of building the new bridge. The David Suzuki Foundation claimed the plan violated the goals of Metro Vancouver's Livable Region Strategic Plan.

The Port Mann / Highway 1 project added another HOV lane along with cycling and pedestrian access. The multi-use pedestrian/bicycle path opened July 1, 2015. A bus service was reintroduced over the Port Mann Bridge for the first time in over 20 years. However, critics claimed that the new bridge only delayed the reintroduction of bus service on the bridge. The new express bus service is now operated in the HOV lanes along Highway 1 from Langley to Burnaby.

The estimated construction cost was $2.46 billion, including the cost of the Highway 1 upgrade, a total of 37 kilometres (23 mi). Of this, the bridge itself comprised roughly a third ($820 million). The total cost, including operation and maintenance, was expected to be $3.3 billion. Now that the new bridge is completed, the existing bridge, which was more than 45 years old, has been taken down.

The project was intended to be funded by using a public-private partnership, and Connect B.C. Development Group was chosen as the preferred developer. The Connect B.C. Group included the Macquarie Group, Transtoll Inc., Peter Kiewit Sons Co., and Flatiron Constructors. Although a memorandum of understanding had been signed by the province, final terms could not be agreed upon. As a consequence, the province decided to fund the entire cost of replacement.

On September 18, 2012, the new Port Mann Bridge opened to eastbound traffic. At 65 metres (213 ft) wide, it was the world's widest long-span bridge, according to the Guinness World Records, overtaking the world-famous Sydney Harbour Bridge, which, at 49 metres (161 ft), held the record since 1932. The Port Mann Bridge was overtaken by the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge in 2013.

Work to dismantle the old Port Mann Bridge began in December 2012. Crews removed sections of the bridge piece by piece in opposite order in which they were originally constructed, starting with the road deck, followed by the bridge approach's girders, and concluding with the steel arch. It was fully removed by October 21, 2015.

The new bridge is 2.02 kilometres (1.26 mi) long, up to 65 metres (213 ft) wide, carries 10 lanes of traffic, and has a 42 metres (138 ft) clearance above the river's high water level (the same length and clearance as the old bridge). The towers are approximately 75 metres (246 ft) tall above deck level, with the total height approximately 163 metres (535 ft) from top of footing. The main span (between the towers) is 470 metres (1,540 ft) long, the second longest cable-stayed span in the western hemisphere. [ citation needed ] The main bridge (between the end of the cables) has a length of 850 metres (2,790 ft) with two towers and 288 cables. The new bridge was built to accommodate the future installation of light rapid transit.