Revenue forecasts for Port Mann lowered by 20 per cent

On the same day demolition of pedestals took place on the old Port Mann Bridge, government officials hailed significant time savings on the new Port Mann Bridge.

But they also reduced revenue estimates for the next three years by 20 per cent, citing lingering effects of the 2008 recession that weren’t including in the original forecast.

“TI Corp and the Port Mann/Highway 1 Project are meeting their commitments to drivers and taxpayers. We are delivering the time savings we committed to when planning began a decade ago, and we are ensuring that we remain self-sufficient by meeting our financial obligation to retire the project debt on schedule,” said Transportation Investment Corporation CEO Mike Proudfoot in a statement.

The corporation says the drive from 200th Street to Grandview Highway in Vancouver now takes approximately 21 minutes, down sharply from 60 minutes in 2012.

However, overall traffic levels on the bridge have not gone up, as higher traffic volumes in the morning and evening have been offset by lower levels during the day.

Rates for the bridge were set at $1.50 for cars, pickup trucks and small vans when the bridge opened, but doubled to $3 each crossing on January 1.

The new financial forecast also takes into account the decline in vehicles on the Port Mann before the new bridge opened in 2012. They blame this on the 2008 recession and drivers avoiding the large amount of construction in the area.

However, the Transportation Investment Corporation believes that “this relatively modest diversion is likely to be temporary and subside after a few months once drivers have tried the other routes and options available to them”, according to a statement.

They also say they will meet their financial obligations, and repay the debt from the Port Mann/Highway 1 construction, within seven to 10 years in advance of the 2050 expiry of tolling.

Another demolition of a pedestal will take place this Sunday at some point between midnight and 4 a.m. Traffic will be closed in both directions for 20 minutes during this time.