The Alex Fraser Bridge (AFB) represents a critical link in the Highway 91 corridor system. Carrying an average of 119,000 vehicles daily, this area is an important commuter and goods movement route that was experiencing significant traffic congestion during peak periods of travel.
The bridge was originally designed to allow for the number of lanes to be increased. Binnie acted as Owner’s Engineer and Lead Engineer throughout the AFB capacity improvement project which prioritized the reconfiguration of the existing six lanes to accommodate the seventh lane and introduced an innovative moveable barrier system that uses a special vehicle that travels along the bridge, moving the barrier to improve capacity and help reduce congestion during peak periods.
Post-project implementation, traffic congestion has been significantly reduced, with approximately 10-minutes time savings realized during the AM peak northbound, and approximately 20-minutes time savings realized during the PM peak southbound. The AFB Project promotes sustainability by maximizing the use of existing infrastructure within existing roadway footprints. The project also incorporated Climate Change resilience by improving the existing rainfall run-off drainage with due consideration for mitigating impacts to sensitive run-off receivers.
With favourable feedback from the motoring public, this project is the first application of a movable barrier counterflow system in all of western Canada.
Binnie is honoured to have been recognized with the following awards for this Project:
- 2020 GVITE Bill Curtis Award for Outstanding Technical Achievement
- 2020 BC MOTI’s Deputy Minister’s Award for Engineering Excellence
- 2020 TAC Conference – Highway Geometrics & Safety Presentation
- EGBC Innovation Magazine (May 2020 publication) – Annual Highlights Article
