The Cassiar Connector is a highway traffic tunnel on the Trans-Canada Highway

Trans-Canada Highway

The Trans-Canada Highway is a federal-provincial highway system that joins the ten provinces of Canada. It is, along with the Trans-Siberian Highway and Australia's Highway 1, one of the world's longest national highways, with the main route spanning 8,030 km...

. It is located in the north-east corner of Vancouver

Vancouver

Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...

, British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

, near the Vancouver-Burnaby border.
Travelling northward, the tunnel begins underneath Adanac Street, passing under the interchange between East Hastings Street and the Highway 1 offramps. It ends underneath Triumph Street, with the highway continuing north to the McGill Street interchange (to the Port of Vancouver

Port of Vancouver

The Port of Vancouver was the name of the largest port in Canada, the largest in the Pacific Northwest, and the largest port on the West Coast of North America by metric tons of total cargo, with 76.5 million metric tons...

) and the Ironworkers Memorial Second Narrows Crossing

Ironworkers Memorial Second Narrows Crossing

The Ironworkers Memorial Second Narrows Crossing, also called the Ironworkers Memorial Bridge, is the second bridge constructed at the Second Narrows of Burrard Inlet in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada...

 towards the District of North Vancouver

North Vancouver, British Columbia (district municipality)

The District of North Vancouver is a district municipality in British Columbia and is part of the GVRD. It surrounds the City of North Vancouver on three sides.-Geography:The District of North Vancouver is separated from Vancouver by Burrard Inlet...

. The tunnel is 730 metres long.

History

In 1959, the Ironworkers Memorial Second Narrows Crossing (known at the time as the Second Narrows Bridge) was opened to traffic. This was followed in 1964 by the completion of the Trans Canada Highway. However, the portion of the highway passing through Vancouver was not built to highway standards. Instead, it used an existing portion of Cassiar Street, including the intersection of Cassiar and Hastings Street. This meant that traffic on the highway was controlled by a traffic light, contributing to congestion especially during peak periods.

The Cassiar Connector was completed in January 1992; at the time it was described as removing one of the last remaining traffic lights on the Trans Canada Highway and also as the BC Ministry of Transportation's largest project to date. The project upgraded 2.3 km of highway south of the Ironworkers Memorial Bridge, and involved the construction of 7 new overpasses, 20 retaining walls, a pedestrian bridge, two new interchanges and the Cassiar Tunnel itself which is 730m long. The total cost of construction was estimated to be C$

Canadian dollar

The Canadian dollar is the currency of Canada. As of 2007, the Canadian dollar is the 7th most traded currency in the world. It is abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or C$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies...

115 million. On January 12, 1992, a Sunday, pedestrians were allowed to roam through the dual tunnels. The next day, it was opened to vehicle traffic, and the Trans Canada highway was diverted to the new route.

Highway expansion

In 2005, the British Columbia provincial government introduced an infrastructure plan known as the "Gateway Program". As part of that program, it is proposed to expand the Trans Canada highway through the Cassiar Connector to three lanes in each direction. These lanes are intended to be used primarily for dedicated entry and exit lanes. Because the tunnel was originally designed to have three lanes in each direction, expansion will not be necessary. Gateway has been approved and construction on the freeway expansion has already begun.