The Dinsmore Bridge is a crossing over the middle arm of the Fraser River, and a former section of River Rd., in Metro Vancouver.
In the 1870s, John Brough, who acquired this island adjacent to Sea Island, built a small house and farmed what became Brough Island. Hugh Boyd purchased the 210-acre property, but resold it to John Errington, who dyked and drained the land in the 1880s. [2] The Goodmurphy cannery, which opened in 1894, [3] was incorporated the following year as the Dinsmore Island Canning Co. by John Dinsmore, M.B. Wilkinson, W.D. Goodmurphy, and Caleb Goodmurphy. [4] The cannery presence renamed the location to Dinsmore Island. [5] In the early 1900s, BC Packers acquired the cannery along with many others along the arms of the Fraser. [6] The plant was demolished in 1913. [7]
In 1920, Bob Doherty purchased Dinsmore Island and Pheasant Island in a tax sale. Clearing the neglected land, he maintained a dairy herd, and tenant farmers grew sugar beet and peas. Doherty also arranged the construction of a bridge from Sea Island, via Pheasant Island at the eastern end of Dinsmore Island. [8] In 1939, the federal government expropriated the farm for airport expansion, and the Doherty family moved to Ladner. [9] Channel filling amalgamated Pheasant Island into Dinsmore Island, which in turn absorbed into Sea Island by 1952. [7]
The federal Department of Transport called tenders for the bridge in 1968, and for the Vancouver International Airport (YVR) approach roads on Sea Island in 1969, describing the location as Dinsmore Island and the crossing as the Dinsmore Island Bridge. [10] The bridge cost about $550,000, [11] but the whole project appears to have totalled $845,000. [12] The City of Richmond extended Gilbert Rd. to the southern shore, at a cost of $180,000, [11] which included bridging the Lansdowne Canal. [13] [14]
The drab concrete structure, which stands on a series of concrete pillars, opened without ceremony on August 15, 1969. [1] [11] Fears it would be tolled never eventuated. [15] YVR owns and maintains this low-level two-lane bridge, with a pedestrian sidewalk on the west side. [16] Being federal property, signage is in both official languages. Although immediately relieving the Moray Bridge, the 1975 opening of the Arthur Laing Bridge, further increased traffic volumes. The two lanes of traffic from Russ Baker Way merging into one lane to cross the Dinsmore, caused rush hour congestion. Although the widening of Russ Baker Way to accommodate the 1993 opening of the No. 2 Road Bridge initially reduced the left turn to a single lane, [11] further widening has returned the double turn lanes. The bridge provides the most direct access to Richmond Hospital and the WorkSafeBC headquarters, and prior to 1993, served all west Richmond traffic.
On October 11, 2006, the bridge closed for several days after a truck on River Road, carrying a crane to the Oval site, damaged eight pre-stressed concrete girders on the underside of the bridge. [17] Re-opening October 13, weight and speed restrictions were temporarily in place. [18] The posted clearance is 4.3 metres (14.1 ft). [19]
In 2011, a Beechcraft King Air 100 crash landed near the Russ Baker Way intersection. The two pilots died from burns. [20] [21]
In 2014, a novice driver struck and killed a pedestrian, who was standing at the Russ Baker Way intersection waiting to cross. The driver, no longer in Canada, has a warrant out for his arrest. [22] A memorial motorcycle ride takes place on each anniversary. [23]
During 2017–2018, unidentified parties tossed plastic bags full of human excrement onto the bridge. [24]
YVR has a goal to seismically upgrade the bridge, or build a wider replacement to better accommodate vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians. [16]
During 2014–2015, River Road was extended eastward along the former CP right-of way to the south end of the bridge. A new ramp beside the bridge linked this road to its existing foreshore alignment. [25] The city intends to continue the four-lane road along the right-of way for 1.5 kilometres (0.9 mi) to Capstan Way. From east of the bridge, the emerging 37-acre waterfront Lulu Island Park will replace the existing foreshore commercial infrastructure and paving. [26] By 2017, the city had purchased most of the 28 acres of industrial land. [27] To the immediate west of the bridge, construction has begun on a three-tower residential complex. [28]
Construction barriers on the four lane bridge...were dropped on Friday
Richmond is a city in the coastal Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada. Mainly a suburban city, it occupies almost the entirety of Lulu Island, between the two estuarine distributaries of the Fraser River. Encompassing the adjacent Sea Island and several other smaller islands and uninhabited islets to its north and south, the suburb neighbours Vancouver and Burnaby on the Burrard Peninsula to the north, New Westminster and Annacis Island to the east, Delta to the south, and the Strait of Georgia to the west.
Vancouver International Airport is an international airport located on Sea Island in Richmond, British Columbia, serving the city of Vancouver and the Lower Mainland region. It is located 12 km (7.5 mi) from Downtown Vancouver. YVR is the second busiest airport in Canada by passenger traffic, behind Toronto Pearson International Airport in Ontario. As a trans-Pacific hub, the airport has more direct flights to China than any other airport in North America or Europe. It is a hub for Air Canada and WestJet. Vancouver International Airport is one of eight Canadian airports that have US Border Pre-clearance facilities. It is also one of the few major international airports to have a terminal for scheduled float planes.
The Canada Line is a rapid transit line in Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, that is part of the SkyTrain system. The line is owned by TransLink and InTransitBC and is operated by ProTrans BC. Coloured turquoise on route maps, it operates as an airport rail link between Vancouver, Richmond, and the Vancouver International Airport (YVR). The line comprises 16 stations and 19.2 kilometres (11.9 mi) of track; the main line runs from Vancouver to Richmond while a 4-kilometre (2.5 mi) spur line from Bridgeport station connects to the airport. It opened on August 17, 2009, ahead of the 2010 Winter Olympics.
The settlement of Steveston, founded in the 1880s, is a neighbourhood of Richmond in Metro Vancouver. On the southwest tip of Lulu Island, the village is a historic port and salmon canning centre at the mouth of the South Arm of the Fraser River. The early 1900s style architecture attracts both the film and tourism industries.
Arthur Laing was a Canadian politician from British Columbia. Though actively involved with the BC Liberals, his primary achievements were federally as a Liberal Member of Parliament. He served in the cabinets of prime ministers Lester B. Pearson and Pierre Trudeau.
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Airport station was a TransLink public transit exchange on Sea Island, Richmond, in Metro Vancouver. Most bus operations using the location ceased September 7, 2009, two and a half weeks after the opening of the Canada Line, when the exchange downgraded to a regular bus stop.
Sea Island is an island in the Fraser River estuary in the city of Richmond, British Columbia, Canada. It is located south of the city of Vancouver and northwest of Lulu Island.
Transportation in Vancouver, British Columbia, has many of the features of modern cities worldwide. Unlike many large metropolises, Vancouver has no freeways into or through the downtown area. A proposed freeway through the downtown was rejected in the 1960s by a coalition of citizens, community leaders and planners. This event "signalled the emergence of a new concept of the urban landscape" and has been a consistent element of the city's planning ever since.
The No. 2 Road Bridge is a crossing over the middle arm of the Fraser River, and River Rd., in Metro Vancouver.
The Marpole CP Rail Bridge was a partially dismantled crossing over the north arm of the Fraser River, and River Dr., in Metro Vancouver.
Grant McConachie Way is a three-to-six lane arterial route and thoroughfare in Richmond and Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Named for aviator Grant McConachie, it is the primary access road into Vancouver International Airport on Sea Island. It is also one of the three roads entering Vancouver from the south, along with Knight Street and Oak Street. Upon entering Vancouver, the road becomes Southwest Marine Drive.
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The Vancouver Greenway Network is a collection of greenways across Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Greenways are streets where pedestrians and cyclists are prioritized over motorized vehicles, through structures such as road closures and road diverters to prevent or limit motor vehicle traffic, widened sidewalk-promenades, narrowed road space, speed restrictions, bike lanes, raised sidewalks and speed bumps. The City of Vancouver hopes to create and maintain the trend of constructing new greenways to establish a network where, potentially, every citizen could access a city greenway within a 25-minute walking or a 10-minute cycling distance of their home.
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