The new overpass on 72nd Avenue at Highway 91 is now open to traffic heading east into North Delta and Surrey.
Motorists travelling southbound from Alex Fraser Bridge were able to use the off-ramp on Sunday morning.
The structure was built to allow northbound traffic on Highway 91 to travel the route without a light at that intersection.
VIDEO: New overpass at 72nd Avenue now open to traffic, southbound from Alex Fraser Bridge. @SurreyNowLeader @NorDelReporter pic.twitter.com/MbAixqTmi8
— Tom Zillich (@TomZillich) August 12, 2018
The cost of the $30-million project was shared by the provincial ($20M) and federal ($10M) governments, according to a post at gov.bc.ca.
“A new interchange at Highway 91 and 72 Avenue will remove the last remaining signalized intersection for through traffic on Highway 91, decreasing congestion and overall travel times along the corridor,” says the post. “This project is part of the strategy to address increased traffic demand on the corridor and over the Alex Fraser Bridge.”
Project construction began in the fall of 2016, and will continue.
• RELATED STORY: Construction to start on interchange in Delta at Highway 91 and 72nd Avenue, from 2016.
On Facebook, people chimed in with comments after Wes Tomlinson posted video of the new route on the North Delta Community Corner page on Sunday morning.
“This looks like it’ll make traffic much better and cut down on the accidents! I know I really like travelling down Nordel now since they put the lights at the foot of the hill,” posted Darine Fuller.
“Wow!! thought it was still months away from completion,” added Mon Ica.
Others weren’t as amused.
“Am I missing something?” posted Ry Maloney. “I’m def not an engineer but I do have some common sense & this just doesn’t seem to add up. Still lights at the end of a bridge but now they’re just elevated?! Maybe it will make sense once it’s fully done (waiting….patiently). Sometimes I wonder if the planners/engineers actually live in the area or drive the route to know what the concerns truly are at all times of the day/year (including rush hour). I feel they should do that for at least 6 mos. to really appreciate what the needs are.”
Added Valerie Gibbons: “Never did make sense, Guess a cloverleaf wasn’t in their designs? I looked up the plan online when I saw the overpass and knew that it was still going to have a light. And I thought that the overpass didn’t seem high enough so wonder how long till a truck drives into it.”