Construction workers and their families celebrated a milestone in the Port Mann Bridge improvement project Saturday, as the bridge is now halfway complete.

The new 10-lane bridge is part of the Port Mann Bridge Highway One Improvement Project, which aims to reduce commuter congestion and improve the movement of goods to Asia-Pacific.

Premier Christy Clark thanked the project's 1,500 workers Saturday, calling the bridge "an absolutely incredible feat of human engineering and construction."

"This bridge will make it easier for goods from all across B.C., from all across Canada to leave our ports," she said. "It's also going to mean something different for families, saving commuters up to an hour a day. That's a real difference that you are making every day in people's lives."

The 42 metre-high cable-supported bridge -- at 2,020 metres long and 65 metres wide -- will be the largest in B.C. when it is complete. Five lanes will run in either direction, including a high-occupancy vehicle lane and an additional bicycle lane.

For the first time since 1989, transit buses will be able to run across the bridge after being removed because heavy traffic kept them from maintaining a regular schedule. A new Highway 1 RapidBus service will provide transportation between Langley and Burnaby in less than 25 minutes.

Eight lanes of the bridge will open in late 2012, with all 10 opening the next year. It is replacing the decades-old five-lane Port Mann Bridge, which will be demolished.

An electronic toll on the Port Mann Bridge will also be added -- $3 including tax, said Transportation Minister Blair Lekstrom.

"The intent is once the bridge is paid for, once the capital costs have been recouped, that those tolls would be looked at being removed," he said.

He said it would take about 40 years to pay off, but believed commuters would be willing to pay a toll because the bridge would save them so much time.

Dave Hayer, MLA for Surrey Tynehead, was on site Saturday touring the bridge deck. He stood at the top of the 160-metre bridge tower, looking over his constituency on the south bank.

He said his constituents are excited about the opening of the new bridge.

"Transportation was one of the major issues in my constituency," he said. "From Guildford it should take about 5 minutes to get to the Port Mann Bridge -- but it used to take anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour and 15 minutes," he said.

"Can you imagine driving somewhere that should only take 5 minutes and sit in your car for 45?" He added the bridge would reduce pollution and allow people to spend more time with their families.

The bridge was engineered to allow for a light rail system, which he hopes to see built in the future, Hayer said.

lkane@vancouversun.com

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