BANG!! BANG!! BANG!!
I can just barely hear it from here, and I live way over on the opposite end of town. From early morning until early evening, non stop pounding. There is a new bridge and overpass under construction. The Golden Ears Bridge. It's a huge project, which is expected to provide relief to the constant gridlock commuters from Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows face every day.
BANG!! BANG!! BANG!!
I can't imagine what it must be like to live closer to it! The noise is caused by the pile driving for the support columns. I think I would go out of my mind listening to that day after day. I pity those home owners in closer proximity.
Like many other nearby communities, Ridge Meadows is bordered by rivers. The Fraser River splits this region in half. We are part of the North Fraser. In order to access South of the Fraser, as is the case with a greater percent of our commuters, the river has to be crossed. Currently that can be done via the Pitt River Bridge or by ferry. Both are woefully inadequate to accommodate the volume of traffic. Our area has grown exponentially in recent years, while little was done with the infrastructure. The dream of a home in suburbia comes with the compromise of 3 hours a day in your vehicle! If there is an accident near the bridge or the swing bridge gets stuck open as is sometimes the case, then that travel time lengthens substantially. Wherever you travel in the Lower Mainland, there are bridges to cross. But not enough of them! Some of the bridges are beautiful structures. I got my admiration of bridges from my dad who collects photos of bridges in his travels.
Thankfully, I work right here in town, so I am not often directly affected by the traffic. I am looking forward to this project being completed as the construction and the noise is tiresome to deal with. Such a huge project takes along time to complete.
Herman sent me a link to a slideshow of some of the Vancouver area bridges. You can view it by clicking this link ----> http://www.balsabridge.com/images/bridge-van/slideshow.htm Herman lives in Holland. He said he recognized some of the bridges from my photos.
This is the Port Mann Bridge, I took this photo back in February. It is one of the bridges in the slide show. Planners are intending to have this bridge 'twinned'. Just a few years ago they went to a huge expense to widen this bridge and add one more lane. It was obviously a band-aid job. It was barely enough to stop the flow of blood, so to say. Now they will build another bridge right beside it. Once all these improvements are made, I am hoping it will be more pleasant to traverse the Greater Vancouver area. Currently, our area is probably one of the worst to commute from!
Every time I hear that BANGING, it reminds me that soon, the drive out of town will be less of a nightmare!
6 comments:
It's going to be nice once the two bridges are finished. I've been stuck in the traffic when the span bridge gets stuck open and it's a long wait. I'm just glad I don't have to commute.
Hope the kitty heals soon and you can stop calling him Conehead...lol. Take care and enjoy the great weather we're having.
Being stuck in traffic is a nightmare. Living where I do, we think we're in rush hour when it takes an extra 15 minutes to get home.LOL Guess I wouldn't do so well in your area.
It's a beautiful designed bridge and it's also a big one. You have to endure the banging till 2009 when I have to believe the schedule :-)
Ah yes the joys of population explosions and new people moving into the area. The people here complain about the traffic sometimes but Winnipeggers don't really know what traffic is. Try some of the the big cities down south and in Canada out east and west. Let's hope it works because usually by the time they are done, it's time for another project
I have lived south of the Fraser River for so long that I now know just what time it's okay to go through the Massey Tunnel and back before the gridlock starts. Like you, when I worked it was right here in the town where I live so didn't have to worry about the traffic. But like "curtis" says, by the time they finish this project it'll be time for another.
I always love bridges. I can relate to the banging..our town has had some major construction going on over the summer on the main road...blocks away and I could still hear it...bluckkkkk..lol
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