King George Boulevard

King George Boulevard (formerly known as King George Highway) is a major arterial road in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada. The 26-kilometre (16 mi) route begins at Highway 99, 1.6 kilometres (1.0 mi) north of the Peace Arch Border Crossing with the United States, and runs generally northwest to the south end of the Pattullo Bridge, a crossing of the Fraser River that connects Surrey with New Westminster. The majority of the route varies from four to six lanes, and some sections in the north run parallel to the Expo Line, which has two adjacent SkyTrain stations: Scott Road station in South Westminster, and King George station in the Surrey City Centre district.[2]

King George Boulevard
Looking north from an Expo Line train
Former name(s)King George Highway
Part of Hwy 1A / Hwy 99A (former)
Maintained byTransLink
Length26 km[1] (16 mi)
LocationSurrey
South end8th Avenue
Major
junctions
Hwy 99
Hwy 10
Fraser Highway
North endPattullo Bridge
Wooden bridge crossing Nicomekl River in South Surrey

History

Prior to completion of the Pattullo Bridge in 1937 and King George Highway in 1940, the main route from Vancouver and New Westminster to both the U.S. border and Fraser Valley was to take the New Westminster Bridge (also known as the Fraser River Swing Bridge) and Old Yale Road from New Westminster to Cloverdale, where travellers could either continue east along the Southern Trans Provincial Highway (present-day Fraser Highway) or south along the Pacific Highway. With the completion of the Pattullo Bridge in 1937 and the King George Highway in 1940, motorists were provided with a more efficient route between Vancouver and New Westminster and the U.S. border. Opened in 1940, the route was originally named "King George Highway" in honour of the royal visit of King George VI the previous year. The corridor was designated Highway 99 and also carried Highway 1 north of present-day Fraser Highway, both of which continued northwest over the Pattullo Bridge and into Vancouver.

In 1973, the Highway 1 and 99 designations were moved to Highway 401 and 499 respectively, with their former alignments being renumbered Highway 1A and Highway 99A. Highway 1A and 99A were decommissioned in 2006 and the name was changed to "King George Boulevard" in 2009 "to project an image of a modern, safe, walkable and livable City Centre community",[3] given that portions of the corridor have had a reputation for being dangerous and having a high incidence of criminal activity.

Route description

King George Boulevard begins at the Highway 99 / 8 Avenue interchange in South Surrey, just east of the City of White Rock and assumes a north-westward orientation, running adjacent to the larger highway and through the more urban neighbourhood of Sunnyside. It crosses over Highway 99 and passes through the more suburban and rural Panorama Ridge neighbourhood, before crossing Highway 10 and passing through the populous town centres of Newton and Whalley, including the Surrey City Centre, a neighbourhood within Whalley which is Surrey's commercial core and emerging regional downtown.[4] Just north of Fraser Highway, King George Boulevard passes King George station, the eastern terminus of the SkyTrain's Expo Line. The SkyTrain runs parallel to King George Boulevard, passing Central City shopping mall and other commercial developments before turning west. It passes between the low-lying South Westminster and Bridgeview neighbourhoods, as well as Scott Road station, before ending at the south end of the Pattullo Bridge. The roadway enters New Westminster and becomes McBride Boulevard, ending at 10 Avenue at the New Westminster / Burnaby city boundary.[2]

Major intersections

The entire route is in Metro Vancouver Regional District.

Locationkm[1]miDestinationsNotes
Surrey0.00.0 Hwy 99 / 8 Avenue (Hwy 914:3186 east) Vancouver, U.S.A. Border, Seattle, White RockHwy 99 exit 2; Hwy 914:3186 is unsigned
2.01.2North Bluff Road / 16 Avenue
5.03.1152 Street
6.03.7148 Street / 32 Avenue (Diversion)
7.24.5Crescent Beach RoadAccess to Crescent Beach
8.05.0 Hwy 99 Vancouver, U.S.A. BorderHwy 99 exit 10; no access from northbound King George Blvd to southbound Hwy 99
10.26.3Colebrook RoadGrade separated
12.0–
12.2
7.5–
7.6
Hwy 10 (56 Avenue / 58 Avenue) Delta, Langley, HopeSplit intersection
13.98.664 Avenue
15.69.772 Avenue
18.811.788 Avenue
20.412.796 Avenue
20.812.998 Avenue / Fraser HighwayFormer Hwy 1A east; south end of former Hwy 1A concurrency
21.113.1Passes King George Skytrain station
22.113.7104 AvenueConnects to Surrey Central Skytrain station
24.915.5 To Hwy 17 / 128 Street / Bridgeview Drive Scott Road Skytrain station
25.916.1Scott RoadGrade separated
Fraser River26.0–
27.2
16.2–
16.9
Pattullo Bridge
King George Boulevard north end • McBride Boulevard south end
New Westminster27.517.1Royal Avenue / Columbia StreetGrade separated
29.418.310th Avenue Burnaby, VancouverFormer Hwy 1A / Hwy 99A followed 10th Avenue to Kingsway
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

KML is from Wikidata
  1. Google (September 28, 2020). "King George Blvd in Greater Vancouver" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved September 28, 2020.
  2. Greater Vancouver & Fraser Valley Street Atlas (Map). 1:20,000. Oshawa, ON: Canadian Cartographic Corporation. 2014. pp. 44–45, 73, 105, 139–140, 162, 181. ISBN 978-1-55198-152-9.
  3. Corporate Report No: R207 (PDF) (Report). City of Surrey. November 16, 2009.
  4. "City Centre". City of Surrey. March 13, 2020. Retrieved October 6, 2020.
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