1130 NewsRadio has been hearing from drivers upset with ongoing delays and road changes on the Mary Hill Bypass in Port Coquitlam.
The provincial government says work began in late November to seismically upgrade the existing four-lane crossing of the Coquitlam River Bridge.
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Speed limits have been lowered from 70 kilometres per hour to 40 kilometres per hour. And because the width of lanes has been reduced from 3.65 metres to 3 metres, some nervous drivers are using two lanes as one to pass through the area.
The change isn’t sitting well with Port Coquitlam Mayor Brad West.
He drove through the area and tells 1130 NewsRadio he gets why people are frustrated.
“I think the issue is, first, there isn’t great signage. When I’ve been through there, there’s been no one on site directing traffic in any sort of way. And what you have is not very clear lane markings… What it’s leading to is people merging into a single lane when the Ministry [of Transportation] is saying they will, in fact, keep two lanes open in each direction. But that’s not what’s happening on the ground.”
West describes the area as a “nightmare” and says he’s been told by the province it will work to make things clearer for drivers this week.
“I understand the ministry says there are in fact two lanes, but they have to do a much better job in delineating that there are two lanes so people can use two lanes. Because I can tell you right now, two lanes are not being used.”
The project isn’t expected to be completed until the fall of 2026, and West says drivers are unlikely to adapt.
“The Mary Hill Bypass is a very well-used commuter connection; it has tens of thousands of people who use it every single day, and right now it’s a huge bottleneck. It’s just completely unacceptable the idea that this would carry on for a year or longer.”
The project is led by the provincial government, and West takes issue with having never been given a heads-up before the road was disrupted.
“We didn’t have any special notice or involvement beyond anything the public was privy to.”
He hopes that next time the government will loop in any municipality where work is being completed.
“That would be nice, wouldn’t it?” he chuckled.
“It’s basic common sense stuff. I would hope there would have been greater consultation. The city has a very good understanding of traffic flows in our community, and I’m sure our staff would have been able to provide some input and advice that would have been helpful. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen, but that doesn’t seem to happen on a lot of things that the province or federal government do with respect to talking to cities.”
In a written statement to 1130 NewsRadio, the provincial Ministry of Transportation and Transit says that they started a review of the road markings.
“While signage is in place on the bridge indicating two lanes should be maintained, the Ministry of Transportation and Transit has undergone an immediate review of the existing road markings to ensure travel lanes are clearly marked,” the ministry said.
“New traffic delineators will be installed, with work starting tonight and completing by the end of the week, to clearly identify the new travel lanes.”
“Preparation and planning for this project included consultation with staff at the Cities of Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, and Pitt Meadows, Kwikwetlem First Nation, Metro Vancouver, the Tri-Cities Chamber of Commerce, Tri-Cities HUB, CPKC, the BC Trucking Association, and additional interested parties,” the ministry added.
Construction is estimated to cost $6.5 million.
