BC Highways - Highway 11 North


Highway 11 is a principal north south route within the central Fraser Valley. Originally a rural route, it has grown to be major connecting highway between the north side of the Fraser River at Mission, with the southside of the Fraser River at Matsqui and Abbotsford. The highway also provides the fourth crossing of the border between the United States and Canada for the Lower Mainland for travellers and commerical vehicles going south.
		Exit 92, Trans-Canada Highway eastbound.
		Exiting Highway 1 in the distance is Vedder Mountain, which overlooks the Central Fraser Valley.


		Highway 11. To the left or south is the U.S. border, about 1.5 km. To the right or north, Highway 11 continues towards Abbotsford and Mission.

		Overpass carries Highway 1 traffic.

		Abbotsford. Abbotsford was mainly an agricultural supply town, but has grown considerably in the 1980's and 1990's to be a major economic centre for the Central Fraser Valley. Along this section of Highway 11 at Marshall Road are fast food outlets and service stations, plus major motels.
		Highway 11 continues on a bypass built in the 1980's. The original highway continued into Abbotsford towards the left, and then north. The bypass climbs a grade towards residential developments that were finished in the 1980's This section of road was part of the Trans-Canada before the freeway was completed.
		Start of the ascent.
		Old Yale Road. Old Yale Road was the principal route through the Fraser Valley during the 1920's to 1940's from New Westminster to Hope. It was largely replaced by the Fraser Highway in the 1930's and Highway 1 in 1964. Old Yale Road still exists as local roads in various places in the Fraser Valley.

		A view of the area from the summit of the bypass
		Old Clayburn Road Old Clayburn Road connected Abbotsford with a former community of Clayburn which was a one industry village situated a short distance to the east (or right). The industry comprised of a manufacturing plant making clay bricks from clay material available nearby. The plant began operations in the early 1900's and is still operating.

		The descent towards north Abbotsford and the Abbotsford-Mission Highway.

		Junction - Abbotsford Mission Highway. To the left or south is Abbotsford City Centre. Turning right or north is the route to Mission. This is the original route of Highway 11 which previously continued south to meet the Fraser Highway in Abbotsford.
		Highway 11 continues north towards Mission.

		This section of Highway 11 has been unchanged since the highway was originally built. On the right is the Southern Pacific Railway, which as its original B.C. Electric and later B.C. Hydro Railway serves the Fraser Valley from Chilliwack to New Westminster. The railway is principally a supply line, but at one time carried electric tram cars comprising of what was called the Interurban. The Interurban carried passengers from Chilliwack to Vancouver until the early 1950's
		This area is also home to many farms which are located east or right of the trees.



		This project continues road widening from Matsqui south towards Abbotsford. Highway 11 is heavily used and the widening will provide better travel conditions.
		Preload embankments. Since the ground here is soft, there is a build up of foundation sand and gravel which is allowed to sink.
		Construction equipment at rest on this project. This section is being prepared for asphalt. Once the new asphalt is completed, the work will continue on this side of the road.
		Approaching Harris Road.
		Harris Road and start of Highway 11 section over the Mission Bridge. Prior to the Mission Bridge being completed, the highway turned adruptly left and then right to go through the little village of Matsqui which is located to the west or left of the picture. At the end of the old route was a one way traffic controlled crossing using the Mission Railway Bridge. The railway bridge crossing was replaced by a new bridge in the early 1970's
		Start of the wide section of Highway 11 built as part of the Mission Bridge project. The old route continued north, a short distance to the west or left.


		Crossing the Canadian National Railway. The CNR is one of two major railways in Canada and this main line to and from Vancouver is very busy. In the distance is the Mission Bridge.
		Mission Bridge. This bridge was completed in 1973 replacing the need for traffic to use the one way only Mission Railway Bridge which is just upstream or to the right of this picture. (researched picture)
		Just to the north of the Mission Bridge for Highway 11 is the railway bridge. It's used for the railway that connects the Canadian Pacific Railway on the north side of the river here to the Canadian National Railway on the south side. From 1927 to 1974, the bridge was planked over to allow passenger cars and small trucks to cross using a traffic light controlled system. It was unique, and was the only way to get across the Fraser River by bridge between New Westminster and Hope before the Agassiz Bridge was finished in the 1950's and the Port Mann Bridge in 1964. (researched picture)
		Mission Railway Bridge in its current configuration.This is looking from the south side to the north side. The Highway bridge is to the west or left of the picture. This would be - with planks between the rails and old railings - the view a person would see while driving across. The line ups to get across the bridge were quite lengthy, which was cause for the new highway bridge to be built. The CPR then took out the planks, and the bridge is used for railway traffic only. (researched picture)
		View of the railway bridge from the south bank. The planked road was as wide as the space between the low bridge girders shown here. It is largely overgrown, but still original. A Canadian Pacfic Railway train approaches the south side of the Fraser. The train will use a connection to turn onto the CN railway to head west towards a coal port southwest of Vancouver. Not only contending with line ups to get on to the bridge, motorists also had to contend with the grade level crossing of the CN Railway in Matsqui before heading to Abbotsford. (researched picture)
		South side of the Mission Bridge.
		Mid span of the Mission Bridge. In the distance is the industrial area. To the west or right of the bridge and the connection to Highway 7 West is Mission Raceway Park, a fixture for drag racing.
		North end of the Mission Bridge. Access to Highway 7 East is made by an access road through the industrial area of Mission. The highway continues for a short distance west and then north to connect with Highway 7, just west of Mission's City centre.

		West and south portions of Mission.
		Access road ends. To the left or north is the centre of Mission. To the right or south is access to some industrial locations. The old route to the old Mission Bridge crossing used this route left to right.
		Mission. Mission is a supply centre for the region on this side of the Fraser River. Mission used to be largely rural, but has enjoyed increased growth since the 1980's. Mission is named for an abby which is located east of the city. The highway will turn right to cross the Canadian Pacific Railway.
		Crossing the Canadian Pacific Railway. The CPR is the second of two national railways and follows the north side of the Fraser River. It is a busy railway. While construction was ongoing on the New Mission Bridge, construction was started on this overpass to remove the long waits at a grade crossing of the CPR that often occured for traffic wanting to cross the old Mission Bridge or to access Highway 7.
Copyright (c) 2004 P. Keenleyside [ Legal and Terms of Use ]		End of access to Highway 7 from Highway 11. Highway 7 continues towards the east or right towards Agassiz and Hope. Click on this picture to turn right and continue east towards Agassiz.