Golden Ears Bridge Opening

[Deleted]

Thanks for the pictures and report. Very scenic and informative. Tolls or not, it will probably be a pretty busy link.

[Mike C]

MAN it was packed today! I'll post a more detailed report + photos later on, but it was hot and crowded. Beautiful bridge though, I walked from Port Kells to Pitt Meadows and back to Walnut Grove. I saw Mike McArdle walking off the bridge from Global BC on the Pitt Meadows side...

[Northern Exploration]

Interesting posts and info. You would have thought there was at least one statue of "golden ears" somewhere on the bridge .
While the route will be a good one it also has the benefits of being another route open should a natural or other situation crop up. You hope you never need it but infrastructure like this can make a huge difference in case you need to move people. And you don't need to go as far as thinking terrorism.

I was already living in Mississauga when the train derailment happened and large parts of the city were evacuated in case the propane and chlorine tankers exploded. We have a grid system of streets and major expressways to rely on but still the traffic was unbelieveable. They evacuated progressively taking into account the wind directions.

Before 9/11 (no one quite knows how many people evacuated Manhattan but it was huge) and New Orleans in 2005, it was the largest peacetime evacuation. For those born later and might not be aware of it, here is the Wiki for it if you are interested.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1979_Mississauga_train_derailment

[Mike C]

My formal report from yesterdays' event.

so I wake up, roll out of bed, throw on a pair of bunny slippers, nom down some food and hit the road. Not a very fun trip out there, it was a 3 bus ride through some very poor neighborhoods of surrey. I finally hit Port Kells and decide that enough's enough, and I'd walk it.

I was the first J-Walker across Golden Ears Way.

Here's a few shots of the spiral pedestrian ramp, and the crowds and events on the bridge deck. Some 60,000 people were reported to have shown up, which is double the 30,000 TransLink was expecting. On-deck events included various staged concerts and performances by live groups, a Yoga class, a show-and-shine and guest services (that was a show unto itself.)






Among other things, you could acquire a passport and get it stamped at various locations on the main bridge deck. I got a passport, as well as the chance to "cut the ribbon" to officially dub the Golden Ears Bridge open... and the sticker to prove it is on my backpack.

As part of the design, various features were incorporated into the bridge including four stationary eagles soaring high above traffic. These four eagles, if you look out for them, are located on the two sets of towers at either end of the bridge.




And I'll leave you with a couple others. Peace out!

[Kahloke]

Great photos, everyone! This reminds me of the New Tacoma Narrows Bridge opening day festivities a couple of years ago. I went to that one - lots o' people!

[Ferryman]

I took one quick drive over the bridge back in the Middle of August. Two weeks later, I promptly recieved my bill in the mail, stating what I owed for the toll. $3.90 .... big woop. I was given until the end of September to cough up the pocket change, or there would be penalties to pay next time I purchase my insurance, plus some pretty hefty interest rates on top of the toll. My mother also followed me over the bridge in her vehicle on the same day, same time. She never even recieved her bill until mine was due - end of September. She however lives in Kelowna, and yet I live on Vancouver Island - non locals.

I haven't been over the bridge since that day, and I recieved another letter in the mail from Golden Ears bridge. This time it says I owe $0.00 by the end of October. I'd certainly hope that I don't continue to recieve such letters every month if I do not even drive over the bridge.

[lmtengs]

This seems to be the best thread for it, being about new bridges and all, so:

The new Pitt River Bridge opened today, replacing the old swing bridges built in 1956 and 1978, respectively. The new bridge has seven lanes, with 3 going westbound and 4 going eastbound. One of the eastbound lanes is only for trucks going into the Pitt Meadows CP Rail Intermodal Terminal. Since there are more lanes on the new bridge, there will no longer be counterflow lanes operating during peak traffic times. The new bridge is higher than the older ones, eliminating the need for a swing span. The old bridges will be demolished soon... but I don't know when. The new bridge opened about a month ahead of schedule.
There have been 4 lanes of the new bridge open for about 3 weeks now.