The
following Concepts were carried through from the Initial MAE for further analysis in the
Final MAE:
- Concept 1A: Queensborough Bridge twinning, 4+2 lanes, Marine Way
interchange with directional ramps, 20th Street 2+2 lanes
- Concept 1B: as above but Marine Way interchange had loop ramps
- Concept 2A: Tree Island Crossing 2+2 lanes from Highway 91A (with
loop ramps) to a partial interchange at Marine Way and continuing along the Meadow Avenue
alignment to Byrne Road
- Concept 3A: Marine-10th Connector and 10th Avenue upgrading, 2+2
lanes
- Concept 3B: as above but with 4+0 lanes
- Concept 4A: Stormont-McBride Connector at-grade, 2+2 lanes
- Concept 4B: Stormont-McBride Connector in a trench, 2+2 lanes. The
trench option was introduced at the start of the Final MAE, in response to concerns
regarding the at-grade concept. This Concept places the Connector in an open trench,
allowing for a pedestrian overpass at 13th Avenue and a vehicular crossing at 16th Avenue.
It therefore represents the "middle ground" between the at-grade and full-tunnel
alternatives.
- Concept 5A: East-West Corridor including United Boulevard Extension,
with 4+0 lanes
- Concept 5B: East-West Corridor including United Boulevard Extension,
with 2+2 HPV lanes, though a 2+0 configuration was retained on Front Street
- Concept 5C: as above but with widening of Columbia Street from
Brunette Avenue to Front Street to provide 4+2 HPV lanes
The Final MAE had the same accounts as the Initial
MAE, but they were evaluated in greater detail. In addition, government costs were
compared with the dollar value of user benefits by calculating a Net Present Value (NPV),
calculated as total benefits minus total costs, with 0 being break-even.
In the North-South Corridor:
- Concept 1A was the widening of Highway 91A to six
lanes, consisting of two GP lanes and one HOV lane in either direction. This was
accompanied by a diamond interchange to replace the Howes Street intersection. The
existing Queensborough Bridge was converted to southbound use only, and a parallel bridge
was provided for northbound traffic. A rebuilt interchange at Marine Way featured
directional ramps for improved operations. Twentieth Street was reconfigured to have one
GP lane and one HOV lane in either direction. At $126 million, this was the least
expensive Concept for crossing the Fraser River. It provided additional capacity,
increased mobility, decreased travel times, improved safety, and improved conditions for HOVs,
inter-regional trips, trucking, cycling and pedestrians. Neighbourhood impacts were
relatively modest. The Concept had a strong NPV of $186 million.
- Concept 1B was the same as above, but with loop
ramps instead of directional ramps for the reconfigured Marine Way interchange. This
Concept had higher capital and property costs, property impacts, noise, community
severance, visual impact, fuel consumption, and vehicle emissions.
- Concept 2A was the Tree Island Crossing with one GP
lane and one HOV lane in either direction. It included a partial interchange at Highway
91A and at Marine Way, and followed the Meadow Avenue alignment to Byrne Road /
Marine-10th Connector. At $217 million, the Tree Island capital cost was the
highest of any Concept. At the same time, it had the potential to generate the highest
user benefits, leading to the highest NPV of any Concept: $289 million. This was because
additional capacity had been provided on a shorter-distance, faster route. The Crossing
benefited HOVs, inter-regional trips, pedestrians, cyclists and goods movement. However,
it had high property impacts and visual intrusiveness, and it crossed highly contaminated
sites as well as important aquatic and terrestrial resources. The inter-tidal and riparian
vegetation in the area was identified as habitat with high productivity and diversity. As
noted in the Initial MAE, there were unresolved operational and safety issues with the
Highway 91A interchange.
- Concept 3A consisted of the Marine-10th Connector
and 10th Avenue with one GP lane and one HOV lane in either direction. This Concept had a
high HOV mode share, leading to a high person-carrying capacity for the corridor. This in
turn led to reduced travel time,
operating costs, noise levels, and fuel consumption/vehicle emissions. The HOV lanes
supported regional compact land use initiatives. The NPV was significant, at $87 million.
- Concept 3B was the same as above, but with all lanes
open to GP traffic. This led to lower HOV volumes and lower user benefits, with the NPV
being only $19 million.
- Concept 4A was the Stormont-McBride Connector with
one GP and one HOV lane in either direction, on an at-grade alignment. This severed the
surrounding community, had visual and noise impacts, and bisected wildlife habitat.
However, it provided significant benefits by adding capacity, providing a shorter route,
and encouraging HOV usage. The NPV was high, at $164 million.
- Concept 4B was the same as above, but in an open
trench alignment. With fewer intersections and a higher speed limit, this Concept
increased the user benefits. It was less intrusive on the neighbourhood, and a proposed
pedestrian overpass at 13th Avenue reduced neighbourhood severance when compared with
Concept 4A. Construction costs were $14 million higher, but benefits increased even more
so the NPV rose to $187 million.
In the East-West Corridor:
- Concept 5A featured the four-lane United Boulevard
Extension (including an interchange at Brunette Avenue, to pass over the adjacent railway
tracks) and modest improvements elsewhere. The full Corridor was open to GP traffic. The
Extension provided a shorter route into the industrial areas of Coquitlam and New
Westminster, thereby easing congestion and improving travel times and operating costs.
Inter-regional trips and truck traffic benefited from the new level of accessibility
provided by completing this missing link in the arterial road network. There were also
significant economic development benefits, as a result of opening up developable
properties that are currently blocked by congestion. The NPV was $44 million.
- Concept 5B was similar, except that the Corridor
(excluding Front Street) was converted to have one GP lane and one HPV lane in either
direction. This brought strong benefits to the truck and bus modes, with user benefits
rising by $43 million over Concept 5A. This reflected the higher value of time associated
with goods movement, and led to a higher NPV of $84 million.
- Concept 5C was similar to 5B, except that the
"bottleneck" section of Columbia Street, from Front Street to Brunette Avenue,
was widened to have two GP lanes and one HPV lane in either direction. This led to
increased property costs, disruption, noise, and visual obstruction. However, it improved
travel conditions for inter-regional trips and general-purpose traffic, including HOVs
which must share the GP lanes. As a result, the NPV rose to $100 million.
The above represents the finding of the provincial consultants, and
is provided as reference material for use by decision-makers.
Introduction
(UMA Engineering Ltd. Report)
Level Two
Level One
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