If you’re planning on travelling to or from Vancouver via the Lions Gate Bridge at night anytime soon, you might want to make other plans.
The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure is reducing traffic on the bridge down to two lanes starting at 7 p.m., Sunday through Thursday, until the end of February.
Things will get a whole lot worse at 10 p.m. when all the north/south traffic will be funnelled into one lane in alternate directions until 5:30 a.m.
West Vancouver resident Margaret Baker got stuck in the “brutal” single-lane mess on Wednesday when it took her an hour and a half to get from Kitsilano to her home at 21st Street and Marine Drive. “I couldn’t even see the end of the traffic,” she said. “I just couldn’t believe how slow it was. ... We were stopped at some points, for what felt like 10 minutes at a time.”
The lanes will be kept open on nights featuring large events downtown like hockey games and concerts, according to the ministry.
Cyclists and pedestrians, meanwhile, will find the Lions Gate’s sidewalks closed during the daytime as crews work to replace the joints. One sidewalk will be kept open at all times and work crews will alternate closures to best fit with cycling commuter schedules.
The province is replacing the aging bridge joints along the viaduct linking Marine Drive to the Lions Gate Bridge to make them smoother for drivers and cyclists and quieter for nearby residents.
Note: This story has been modified since first posted.
