Port Mann Bridge

　　The Port Mann Bridge refers to two bridges in the Metro Vancouver region of British Columbia, Canada, both spanning the Fraser River to connect Surrey on the south shore and Coquitlam on the north shore. The first-generation Port Mann Bridge was a tied-arch bridge, opened in 1964 and closed in 2012. It once carried five lanes of British Columbia Highway 1 and was scheduled for demolition in 2014. The second-generation Port Mann Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge, opened in 2012, and currently carries eight lanes of Highway 1.

　　The first-generation Port Mann Bridge opened on June 12, 1964, initially with four lanes. It cost 25 million Canadian dollars and was named after the Port Mann neighbourhood in Surrey, where the south end of the bridge is located. The bridge spanned 2,093 metres in total, with a main span of 366 metres.

　　The new Port Mann Bridge has a main span of 470 metres and a total length of 2,020 metres including approaches on both the north and south shores. Its two towers stand 163 metres tall, and the deck is 65 metres wide, surpassing the Sydney Harbour Bridge to become the world’s widest long-span bridge according to the Guinness World Records. The new bridge, along with the Highway 1 widening project, cost approximately 3.3 billion Canadian dollars. Three of the ten lanes on the new bridge — all eastbound — opened on September 18, 2012; two westbound lanes opened on November 17 of the same year, and the old bridge was immediately closed. Another eastbound lane and two westbound lanes opened on December 1, 2012, bringing the total number of open lanes in both directions to eight. The remaining two lanes of the new bridge were opened in 2013 after approach work was completed, and the old bridge was scheduled for demolition in 2014.

　　Port Mann Bridge Reason to Visit: The world’s widest long-span bridge Continent: North America Country/Region: Canada Province/State: British Columbia