New HOV ramps cut gridlock
Re: “No discount due to design flaw,” (Letters, The Leader, Feb. 12).
Jatinder Sandhu is correct that HOV drivers must use 156 Street in order to be in the HOV lane and receive the HOV discount when they pass under the toll gantry.
What I’d like to point out is these new dedicated HOV ramps are designed to complement the larger improvements of the 152 Street Interchange.
In fact, I expect many HOV drivers will prefer using the new 156 Street ramps over the traditional entrance and exit at 152 Street.
The 156 Street Interchange is a brand new set of on- and off-ramps built to provide fast, efficient and convenient access to the Highway 1 HOV lane for HOV vehicles. Traditionally, 152 Street has been one of the busiest interchanges on the Port Mann/Highway 1 corridor, and giving HOV vehicles their own, dedicated ramps at 156 Street makes Highway 1 access from Surrey more efficient.
These new HOV ramps are less than a minute away from 152 Street, and entering and exiting via 156 Street shouldn’t add any additional travel time for most drivers.
Having HOV traffic use these new ramps will also take some pressure off the 152 Street Interchange, which has been one of the primary causes of the traffic bottleneck at the east end of the Port Mann Bridge. The new wider bridge, a new 152 Street interchange and HOV access via 156 Street are all working together to clear what was once the worst traffic bottleneck in British Columbia.
The new HOV and transit ramps at 156 Street are just one of the many HOV and transit investments included in the Port Mann/Highway 1 Improvement Project.
HOV and transit ramps at 202 Street in Langley, transit ramps at Government Street in Burnaby, and HOV on and off-ramps at Grandview Highway in Vancouver give commuters access to 30 new HOV lane kilometres that make up Highway 1’s new fast, efficient and time-saving network for HOV drivers and transit users.
Mike Proudfoot, CEO
Transportation Investment Corporation
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