It took Chilliwack’s Clearview Demolition Ltd. two eight-hour shifts to tear down the Glover Road Overpass.

Clearview’s Brad Morrison told the Langley Advance Times demolition began on Friday night, March 31st and went overnight into Saturday morning, then resumed Saturday night and finished on Sunday morning, April 2nd.

“We had five excavators [and three other rigs],” Morrison said.

Crews used overnight lane diversions to demolish one half of the bridge at a time.

Crews will continue to work in the median for next two weeks to clear up the demolition material, the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure reported.

There will be no impact to existing travel lanes during the clean-up process, the ministry said.

READ ALSO: Glover Road Overpass to close until summer 2024

The new overpass is expected to open in the summer of 2024.

Drivers and cyclists are being asked to use the 216th Street overpass to the west, while trucks and commercial vehicles are being directed to the 232nd Street’s interchange.

The $19.5 million overpass replacement is part of a wider project to widen Highway One to six lanes all the way from 216th Street to 264th Street. The extra lanes will be HOV/electric vehicle lanes.

Demolition of the Glover Road crossing in Langley began on Friday night, March 31st and finished on Sunday morning, April 2nd. (Photo courtesy Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure)

The overpass, built in the 1960s, was lower than the other nearby overpasses, and truck drivers who failed to check their clearances in advance have repeatedly smashed into the structure, usually heading east, causing partial closures of the overpass to make repairs.

The new overpass will be significantly higher.

When completed, it will have multi-use pathways on either side, each three meters wide. This will also be an upgrade for cyclists and pedestrians. The current overpass has a single sidewalk on its east side, and no shoulders or bike lanes for cyclists.

For a map of the detour routes and more information on the overall highway widening project, visit www.gov.bc.ca/216to264widening.

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