Fraser Valley businesses frustrated with Highway 1 congestion
Posted July 28, 2016 12:38 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
ABBOTSFORD (NEWS 1130) – Anyone who has taken Highway 1 between Surrey and Abbotsford knows how congested it gets as drivers are forced to merge in and out between two and three lane sections.
And that appears to be hurting Fraser Valley businesses too, prompting them to ask the provincial government for some kind of timeline on when widening will happen.
The Ministry of Transportation says planning for the promised widening of the highway will finish towards the end of the year. The project was included in its 10-year transportation plan.
Executive Director of the Abbotsford Chamber of Commerce Allan Asaph says they still don’t know when construction will start or when it could finish. “For any business, the more information you have to be able to plan properly, the better you can manage your own resources. When the government leaves us in an uncertain position, it makes it very difficult for businesses to plan properly.”
Asaph wants this treated as a priority. “We certainly want to see our industrial land base grow out here in Abbotsford as does Chilliwack and Mission. But in order for us to be able to do that, we have to make sure the vehicles are going to be to get from the port out here.”
He adds the Fraser Valley is quickly becoming an industrial hub and companies need access in and out of Vancouver. Asaph is now calling on the federal and provincial governments to expedite the project by working on the simple sections of the highway as soon as possible.
