Dear Courier Diary: Are you a Golden Ears person....?

Good Morning Friends,

today is Wednesday June 17, 2009

Well, good morning friends and once again I am happy to report that I am still alive and well. Well, as well as can be expected for me if you know what I mean. Back to work today after four days off again. The weather is still holding up as far as I know. Kind of early for the sun actually. Took the unit for another spin yesterday and I found myself checking out our brand new bridge. It is called the Golden Ears Bridge and it connects the Port Kells area of Surrey/Langley with the other side of the Fraser River, namely Pitt Meadows. This bridge is meant to take off some pressure for those people who have to struggle to get home via the Lougheed Highway and who live in Pitt Meadows and the Maple Ridge Area. No doubt they will also knock out, or make redundant, the free Port Albion Ferry, which is situated on the east side of Maple Ridge.

As a courier I can immediately see the benefits of this bridge. I go to Pitt Meadows and Maple Ridge all of the time from the Surrey and Langley areas so this will cut down a lot of time and save a lot of gas as well. So, even though it will be a toll bridge after an initial one month freebie period I think it will be worthwhile to pay the toll anyway. I think you simply save on gas right off the bat. Not only that there will be various methods of payment and an electronic and photo system will be able to take pictures of your license plate and you can just run a tab. And, this would be just another business expense anyway so all is not lost as you can see.

So, I decided to take the plunge yesterday and cruise over the new, temporary free bridge. It is a three lane affair both ways and feels kind of like the Mission Bridge which is located far to the east up the Fraser Valley. The thing you immediately notice about this bridge are the eagles hanging on the side of the bridge. This is a real novelty I think. I have never seen this kind of architecture on a bridge before. And, there is more than one of these birds as well. Take a look at the third picture from the top and you will be able to see one of the majestic birds hovering atop of one of the bridge pillars. A real nice personal touch indeed.

So, welcome to the new Golden Ears Bridge. I was going about 70 km per hour over the bridge when I took the snaps. The speed is varied, but it is mostly 80 km per hour. I did not think these pictures would turn out and that they would be blurred on account of the speed, but as you can see they are not.