Reliable Highway Network
Highway #7 is the main provincial highway that connects Maple Ridge to the Fraser Valley, including Coquitlam, Burnaby, Vancouver and other municipalities to the west. This same highway links Maple Ridge to the Fraser Valley to the east and, via Highway 11, to Trans Canada Highway #1. The Albion ferry currently serves southbound traffic crossing the Fraser River from Maple Ridge to Langley and Surrey, operating between 5am to 1am daily.
With steady growth in commercial and commuter traffic throughout the Lower Mainland and on Highway 7 and the ferry, the provincial government transportation authority, Translink, is now undertaking major transportation system upgrades that will improve the flow of people and goods, and enhance the Lower Mainland as a place to work and live. Those upgrades that affect Maple Ridge are the following.
Port Mann/Highway 1 Upgrade
The Provincial Gateway Project includes the Port Mann/Highway 1 upgrade which will improve traffic flows on one of the most congested parts of the Lower Mainland roadway system, with significant benefits to commuters and commercial traffic to/from Maple Ridge. The project will include widening of the highway, twinning the Port Mann Bridge, upgrading interchanges and improving access and safety on Highway 1 from the McGill interchange in Vancouver to 216th Street in Langley, a distance of approximately 37 kilometres. Construction is expected to start in late 2009 and be completed by 2013.
The proposed South Fraser Perimeter Road along the South shore of Delta and Surrey is to proceed in 2009. It will provide better access for commuters and commercial traffic travelling to and from the US border and ferries, and would provide a connection with Highways 1 (via 176th Street), 15, 91, 99, and 17, as well as the Golden Ears Bridge. It would also improve access to industrial developments in Surrey and Delta.
These improvements represent major capital expenditures, and are reflective of the provincial and regional governments' commitment to maintaining a first-class roadway infrastructure. With the completion of the Golden Ears Bridge, Maple Ridge is expected to see significant changes in land use patterns as population growth stimulates further residential, commercial and industrial development.