Since December 2012, drivers in the Vancouver region are finding that traffic is flowing a lot better. Those travelling between the towns of Coquitlam and Surrey by taking the Trans-Canada Highway now cross the Fraser River in record time.
What's changed? There's a new Port Mann Bridge in place. The new all-concrete version has doubled the bridge's capacity to 800,000 vehicles per week by comparison with the former steel bridge, which had only five lanes of traffic and was totally saturated. The bottlenecks could sometimes add more than an hour to journey times!
LafargeHolcim was one of the leading players in the construction of this vast structure. The new Port Mann Bridge is the longest cable-stay bridge in North America (2 km long) and the widest in the world (65 m in width), with ten lanes of traffic - plus one for cyclists and pedestrians. Apart from the bridge, the project also entails widening 37 km of highway between Vancouver and Langley.
We brought all our experience of major civil engineering structures to this vast project. Thanks to our network of concrete plants situated along the 37 km length of the jobsite, we were able to supply the 180,000 m³ of concrete needed to construct the various elements of the bridge.
So now local drivers can take their cars with no stress!
