BC government seeking public feedback on Highway 1 widening design in Langley

Highway 1 upgrade at 232nd Street Interchange. (Government of BC)

The provincial government has launched online public consultation on the design of the next phase of the Highway 1 widening and improvement strategy in Metro Vancouver’s easternmost areas towards the Fraser Valley.

This will be a widening of 10 km of Highway 1 in the median between the 216 Street and 264 Street interchanges within the Township of Langley.

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Two options are currently being considered for the widening component of this upgrade to the region’s critical arterial transportation corridor.

One option would add an HOV lane westbound between 264 Street and 232 Street by converting the existing eastbound truck climbing lane between 232 Street and 264 Street to an HOV lane to allow for a continuous HOV lane. In the future, the truck climbing lane will be reintroduced after the interchange replacement at 264 Street is completed.

The second option is to retain the existing eastbound truck lane and perform the widening between 232 Street and 264 Street as part of the future project phase of replacing the 264th Street interchange.

Highway 1 upgrade project corridor. (Government of BC)

Other components of the highway upgrade involve changes to overpass infrastructure and interchanges.

A new Glover Road overpass will have a higher clearance for highway traffic travelling underneath, and the new structure will be wider to accommodate pedestrian and cycling pathways.

Existing condition of Glover Road overpass:

Highway 1 upgrade over Glover Road. (Government of BC)

Future condition of Glover Road overpass:

Highway 1 upgrade over Glover Road. (Government of BC)

Further east along the highway corridor, the 232 Street interchange currently sees issues with its short weaving and short merging distances, which increases the risk of collisions. It also no longer meets the design needs for its high traffic volumes.

This will be resolved by reconfiguring the interchange’s existing cloverleaf design for safer and more efficient connections to the highway, and the addition of traffic signals to both the on- and off-ramp connections to optimize multi-directional flows.

The 232 Street overpass over the highway will also be replaced by a new taller and wider structure for increased clearance for the vehicles below, and the addition of pedestrian and cycling pathways.

Existing condition of the 232 Street interchange:

Highway 1 upgrade at 232nd Street Interchange. (Government of BC)

Future condition of the 232 Street interchange:

Highway 1 upgrade at 232nd Street Interchange. (Government of BC)

Another upgrade component will be a replacement of the existing CP railway crossing overpass across the highway, which is occasionally struck by over-height freight trucks due to its low clearance of only 4.4 metres. A new replacement railway overpass will have a higher clearance height of about a metre more, and it will accommodate space for the highway’s widening to three lanes in each direction.

Existing condition of CP railway overpass:

Highway 1 upgrade at CP rail crossing. (Government of BC)

Future condition of CP railway overpass:

Highway 1 upgrade at CP rail crossing. (Government of BC)

Funding for this $235.5 million highway upgrade was announced in 2019, with the federal government committing $109 million, the provincial government with $99.5 million, and the Township of Langley with $27 million.

Site preparation and early construction works will begin Spring 2021. Major construction is anticipated to begin in early 2022, when the complete detailed design is finalized, to achieve a project completion by 2025.

Approximately 90,000 vehicles use this particular stretch of highway on a daily basis, including 9,000 commercial and freight vehicles.

The Highway 1 widening strategy began in Surrey over a decade ago, and the provincial government’s goal is to continue a seamless three-lane standard in each direction reaching at least Whatcom Road in Abbotsford.

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