Georgia Viaduct on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
The Georgia Viaduct is a twinned bridge that acts as a flyover-like overpass in
The viaduct's eastbound traffic is fed from
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
, British Columbia, Canada. It passes between Rogers Arena
Rogers Arena is a multi-purpose arena located at 800 Griffiths Way in the downtown area of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Opened in 1995, the arena was known as General Motors Place (GM Place) from its opening until July 6, 2010, when Ge ...
and BC Place Stadium
BC Place is a multi-purpose stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Located at the north side of False Creek, it is owned and operated by the BC Pavilion Corporation (PavCo), a crown corporation of the province.
The venue is currently ...
and connects Downtown Vancouver
Downtown Vancouver is the central business district and the city centre neighbourhood of Vancouver, Canada, on the northwestern shore of the Burrard Peninsula in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. It occupies most of the north sh ...
with Main Street and Strathcona.
History
The first Georgia Street Viaduct was built between 1913 and 1915. The narrow structure included streetcar tracks that were never used. At one point, every second lamppost was removed to reduce weight. It was replaced in 1972 by the current viaduct, which is structurally separated. The current Georgia Viaduct was envisioned in the early 1970s as forming part of an extensivefreeway
A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms ...
system for Vancouver. However, communities were opposed to the idea of demolishing structures to build the freeway system and the plan was scrapped. The freeways would have required demolishing buildings in neighborhoods including Strathcona, the Downtown Eastside and Chinatown
A Chinatown () is an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Africa and Austra ...
. A predominantly Black Canadian
Black Canadians (also known as Caribbean-Canadians or Afro-Canadians) are people of full or partial sub-Saharan African descent who are citizens or permanent residents of Canada. The majority of Black Canadians are of Caribbean origin, though t ...
community called Hogan's Alley was bulldozed in building the viaduct.
The viaduct opened on January 9, 1972, amid protests who attempted to block mayor Tom Campbell's limousine from reaching the western end.
Traffic flow
The viaduct's eastbound traffic is fed from Georgia Street
Georgia Street is an east–west street in the cities of Vancouver and Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. Its section in Downtown Vancouver, designated West Georgia Street, serves as one of the primary streets for the financial and central busin ...
and leads vehicles to Prior Street and Main Street. The viaduct's westbound lanes—often referred to as Dunsmuir Viaduct because they connect to Dunsmuir Street—pass to the north of Rogers Arena. The westbound traffic comes from Prior Street and Main Street, and carries vehicles and pedestrians to Dunsmuir Street, downtown which feeds into Melville Street and eventually Pender Street.
''Deadpool'' filming
On April 5, 2015, the viaduct was closed for two weeks to allow filming of the movie ''Deadpool
Deadpool is an antihero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Fabian Nicieza and artist/writer Rob Liefeld, the character first appeared in ''New Mutants'' #98 (cover-dated Feb. 1991). Initially, Deadp ...
'', which was released on February 12, 2016.
Demolition
On October 27, 2015, Vancouver City Council voted to demolish the twin viaducts. A new six-lane road configuration that merges Expo and Pacific boulevards is in the planning stages.See also
*Georgia Street
Georgia Street is an east–west street in the cities of Vancouver and Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. Its section in Downtown Vancouver, designated West Georgia Street, serves as one of the primary streets for the financial and central busin ...
* List of bridges in Canada
This is a list of bridges and viaducts in Canada, including those for pedestrians and vehicular traffic.
Historical and architectural interest bridges
There are only a few covered bridges left in Canada compared to all those that were built in t ...
References
{{Vancouver landmarks Bridges in Greater Vancouver Viaducts in Canada Bridges completed in 1972 Road bridges in British Columbia Buildings and structures in Vancouver