Province to expand Hwy 1 to 264th, but not as far as Abbotsford

LANGLEY (NEWS 1130) – The long-awaited widening of Highway 1 through Langley is going ahead, but that expansion is not going as far as Abbotsford.

During a press conference in Langley, the B.C. government reaffirmed an old commitment to widening Highway 1 from 216th to 264th Streets.

The project was first announced in 2017 by the former B.C. Liberal government and put on hold by the NDP until now. Back then, the government had promised to eventually have six lanes all the way to Whatcom Road in Abbotsford.

The twinning of the Trans Canada highway is estimated to cost $235 million with support from the federal government, but construction is not expected to start until 2021.

Several politicians in the area have been calling for the Trans-Canada to be widened to six lanes through the valley for years, including Abbotsford Mayor Henry Braun, who has been calling for an expansion for years.

Following Thursday’s announcement Braun says he’s pleased the province has been listening and notes he’s still hopeful the widening will eventually include Abbotsford.

“It’s much closer with this announcement than where it currently is so I’m pleased with that,” he adds. “In a perfect world, I would have liked to have seen it come to Whatcom Road.”

RELATED: Province commits millions to long-awaited Hwy 1 expansion

He says he had a good meeting with the Horgan and Transportation Minister Claire Trevena following the announcement, noting both left with a better understanding of some of the challenges the city is facing.

“I’m very optimistic that once they get to 264th they’ll carry on at the very least along Lehman Road,” Braun says.

Abbotsford Police Chief Mike Serr agrees with Braun, noting first responders would love to see Highway 1 through Abbotsford widened to six lanes.

“It is challenging for emergency vehicles in certain times of the day to get through there,” Serr adds. “Abbotsford is becoming, you know it’s growing rapidly as are the other communities in the Fraser Valley and we certainly need that access.”

When asked why the expansion went only as far as Langley, Horgan said funding for that section has not been approved.

Horgan: infrastructure changes won’t happen overnight

As for why this 10-kilometer project doesn’t extend into Abbotsford, Horgan says it will take time to improve the province’s infrastructure.

This project, he says, is just one part of plans to improve the Valley’s transportation issues.

“We have a deficit in transportation infrastructure in the Valley. That didn’t happen yesterday, it’s happened over a long period of time and we won’t be able to fix it tomorrow. We’re going to have to fix it in successive pieces,” he says. “Well, we’re taking it bits at a time — the engineering work is underway.

“The need is apparent — there’s no more requirement to highlight that — it’s evident every day.”

RELATED: Long-awaited improvements could be coming to Hwy 1 through Fraser Valley

He adds that his government is consulting with municipal leaders about how best to keep traffic moving through that bottleneck.

“To talk about getting to Abbotsford, getting to Chilliwack and addressing those challenges that have been, I would say, left idle –no pun intended– for too long,” he says.

-With files from Ria Reouf, Tim James and Bruce Claggett

 

-With files from Ria Reouf, Tim James and Bruce Claggett