Editing Alex Fraser Bridge

{{Infobox bridge
| name                = Alex Fraser Bridge
| image               = Alex Fraser Bridge.jpg
| caption             = Alex Fraser Bridge
| carries             = Seven lanes of [[British Columbia Highway 91]], pedestrians and bicycles
| crosses             = [[Fraser River|South Arm Fraser River]]
| locale              = [[Delta, BC]]
| owner               = [[British Columbia Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure]]
| designer            = Buckland & Taylor
| design              = [[cable-stayed bridge]]
| material            = Steel & Reinforced concrete
| mainspan            = {{convert|465|m|ft|abbr=on}}
| length              = {{convert|2525|m|ft|abbr=on}}
| width               = {{convert|32|m|ft|abbr=on}}
| height              = {{convert|154|m|ft|abbr=on}}
| clearance_below     = {{convert|57|m|ft|abbr=on}}
| spans               = 45
| begin               = 1983
| open                = September 22, 1986
| cost                = $58 million
| coordinates         = {{coord|49.1598|-122.9428|region:CA-BC_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
| traffic             = 119,000<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/transportation/transportation-infrastructure/projects/alex-fraser-bridge |title=Alex Fraser Bridge Improvement Project |access-date=2019-06-04 |archive-date=2020-08-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200804143331/https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/transportation/transportation-infrastructure/projects/alex-fraser-bridge |url-status=dead }}</ref>
| references          = structurae.de<ref>[http://en.structurae.de/structures/data/index.cfm?ID=s0000458 Alex Fraser Bridge] en.structurae.de {{in lang|en|fr|de}}</ref> Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure<ref name="recorddrawings">{{cite web |last1=British Columbia Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure |last2=COWI |title=Alex Fraser Bridge No. 02753 General Arrangement |url=https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/driving-and-transportation/transportation-infrastructure/contracting-with-the-province/documents/12871-0002/6-alex-fraser-bridge-record-drawings.pdf |website=www2.gov.bc.ca |publisher=British Columbia Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure |access-date=2022-12-02 |archive-date=2021-11-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211106181035/https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/driving-and-transportation/transportation-infrastructure/contracting-with-the-province/documents/12871-0002/6-alex-fraser-bridge-record-drawings.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>
}}

The '''Alex Fraser Bridge''' (also known as the '''Annacis Bridge''') is a [[cable-stayed bridge]] over the [[Fraser River]] that connects [[Richmond, British Columbia|Richmond]] and [[New Westminster]] with [[North Delta, British Columbia|North Delta]] in [[Greater Vancouver]], British Columbia. The bridge is named for [[Alex Fraser (politician)|Alex Fraser]], a former British Columbia Minister of Transportation. The bridge was the [[List of largest cable-stayed bridges|longest cable-stayed bridge in the world]] when it opened on September 22, 1986, and was the longest in North America until the [[Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge]], in the U.S. state of [[South Carolina]], opened in 2005.

==Overview==
The Alex Fraser Bridge is {{convert|2525|m|ft}} long with a main span of {{convert|465|m|ft}}. The towers are {{convert|154|m|ft}} tall.<ref>[http://www.cowi-na.com/menu/projects/bridge/design-bid-build/alex-fraser-bridge Buckland & Taylor project page], lists design facts about the bridge</ref> It consists of seven lanes, three in each direction with the middle lane acting as a reversible lane, and had a maximum speed limit of {{convert|90|km/h}} until July 24, 2019, when the speed limit was lowered to {{convert|70|km/h}} to accommodate the additional reversible lane.<ref>{{cite news |last=Chan |first=Kenneth |date=July 24, 2019 |work=[[Daily Hive]] |url=https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/alex-fraser-bridge-speed-limit-2019 |title=Alex Fraser Bridge speed limit permanently lowered to 70 km/hr }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Amiri |first=Hamed |date=July 23, 2019 |work=604 Now.com |url=https://604now.com/new-speed-limit-lane-closures-alex-fraser-bridge-2019/ |title=Speed limit on Alex Fraser Bridge being permanently lowered by 20 km/h }}</ref> Upon opening in 1986, only four of the six available lanes were open. Cyclists and pedestrians share two narrow sidewalks one on each side. All six lanes opened in 1987 after traffic demand justified the need.<ref>{{cite web |website=Vancouver History.ca |url=http://www.vancouverhistory.ca/chronology1986.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200505072916/http://vancouverhistory.ca/chronology1986.htm |archive-date=2020-05-05 |title=The History of Metropolitan Vancouver – 1986 chronology }}</ref>

The bridge's southern end is in North Delta and its northern end is on [[Delta, British Columbia|Delta]]'s [[Annacis Island]]. Connections on its southern end lead to [[White Rock, British Columbia|White Rock]] and the [[Canada–United States border]] at the [[Peace Arch Border Crossing|Peace Arch border crossing]]. The connections on the northern end lead into the cities of New Westminster, Richmond, and [[Burnaby]], and on into [[Vancouver]] itself. It is a major artery in the [[Lower Mainland]] of British Columbia.

The bridge was constructed for the British Columbia Ministry of Transportation and was designed by a joint venture of Klohn Crippen Berger and [[Buckland & Taylor]] (now COWI North America). Its total cost was $58 million.

==Recent history==
In December 2016, "ice bombs" (also called "slush bombs") dropped from the Alex Fraser Bridge and the nearby [[Port Mann Bridge]] onto vehicles, causing damage to windshields. The Alex Fraser has its cables along the sides of the driving lanes, whereas on the Port Mann, they cross over top of the driving lanes. In addition to 2016, this also happened on the Alex Fraser in 2005, 2008, and 2012.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2016-12-12 |url=https://theprovince.com/news/local+news/massey+tunnel+replacement+have+bombs/12516473/story.html |title=Massey Tunnel replacement won't have ice bombs: B.C. government |last=Saltman |first=Jennifer |newspaper=[[The Province]] |access-date=2017-02-27 |language=en-CA |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170228075045/http://www.theprovince.com/news/local+news/massey+tunnel+replacement+have+bombs/12516473/story.html |archive-date=2017-02-28 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The Alex Fraser needed to be closed a few times during December 2016 due to the possibility of ice bombs; this caused major traffic problems in the region.<ref>{{cite web | access-date=2017-02-27 | url=http://www.torontosun.com/2016/12/10/ice-bombs-forcealex-fraser-bridgein-vancouver-to-close | title=Ice bombs force Alex Fraser Bridge in Vancouver to close | publisher=Toronto Sun | work=[[Toronto Sun]] | last=Tufnail | first=Tracey | last2=Network | first2=Postmedia}}</ref> To combat this issue, the BC government announced that a heavy lift helicopter will be used to blow snow and ice off the cables to prevent it from accumulating and falling onto the cars below.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/helicopter-to-prevent-snow-ice-bombs-falling-on-vehicles-from-alex-fraser-bridge|title=Helicopter to prevent snow, ice bombs falling on vehicles from Alex Fraser Bridge|date=2016-12-17|work=Vancouver Sun|access-date=2017-02-27|language=en-US}}</ref>

An announcement was made on January 19, 2017, that a new seventh travel lane would be added on the bridge by slightly narrowing the existing lanes and removing the shoulders.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://globalnews.ca/news/3192205/new-lane-to-be-added-to-alex-fraser-bridge-by-narrowing-existing-lanes/|title=New lane to be added to Alex Fraser Bridge by narrowing existing lanes|last=Judd|first=Amy|newspaper=Global News|access-date=2017-02-18|language=en}}</ref> A reversible lane system with a [[Barrier transfer machine|movable barrier]] was added to help ease traffic during morning and afternoon [[Rush hour|rush hours]]. The new seventh lane opened to traffic on September 14, 2019,<ref>[https://www.surreynowleader.com/news/seventh-lane-now-open-on-alex-fraser-bridge/ Seventh lane now open on Alex Fraser Bridge]</ref> with the moveable reversible zipper in operation beginning December 16, 2019.<ref>[https://www.citynews1130.com/2019/12/16/alex-fraser-counterflow-lane-sees-first-rush-hour-commute-since-opening/ Alex Fraser counterflow lane sees first rush hour commute since opening]</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of crossings of the Fraser River]]
* [[List of bridges in Canada]]

==References==
{{Commons category|Alex Fraser Bridge}}
{{reflist}}

{{Vancouver landmarks}}
{{Bridges of Greater Vancouver}}
{{Crossings navbox|reverse=yes
|structure       = Crossings
|place           = [[Fraser River]]
|bridge          = Alex Fraser Bridge
|bridge signs    =
|upstream        = [[Skybridge (Vancouver)|Skybridge]]
|upstream signs  =
|downstream      = [[George Massey Tunnel]]
|downstream signs =
}}
{{LongestBridge
| type = cable-stayed
| start = 1986
| end = 1991
| previous = Ingeniero Carlos Fernández Casado Bridge
| current = Alex Fraser Bridge
| next = Skarnsund Bridge
}}

[[Category:Bridges in Greater Vancouver]]
[[Category:Cable-stayed bridges in Canada]]
[[Category:Bridges completed in 1986]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Delta, British Columbia]]
[[Category:Bridges over the Fraser River]]
[[Category:1986 in Canada]]
[[Category:Road bridges in British Columbia]]
[[Category:Roads with a reversible lane]]
[[Category:Transport in Delta, British Columbia]]