The final piece of a new overpass connecting the Lougheed Highway with Highway 1 eastbound was put in place over the weekend in time for the Monday morning commute.
Transportation Investment Corporation spokesperson Max Logan said the first of the two weekend closures went off without a hitch and drivers will now be able to do in seconds what once took several minutes.
"On Friday afternoon there was about a 20 m gap in this overpass," he said. "Since that time crews on the Port Mann/Highway 1 Improvement Project have completed an engineering marvel."
Girders were laid down and the road surface was completed between Friday and Sunday night, allowing the lanes that were closed to complete the project to return to full capacity Monday morning.
But the weekend closures are not over yet.
Between Sept. 28 and Sept. 30 Highway 1 will be reduced to one lane in each direction, as construction crews work to take down the old Cape Horn overpass.
Logan said that advertising, social media and highway signage will alert drivers to the closure on those weekends and advise them to find alternate routes.
The project is one of the most comprehensive interchange reconstruction in B.C. history and the most complex part of the Port Mann/Highway 1 Improvement Project.
Logan said when work is complete, the new interchange will have 15 new ramps, structures and direct connections, which will be a critical part of the bridge's travel time savings.
