VANCOUVER — Improvements to Highway 17 in Delta, B.C. are underway and should be ready prior to the opening of the Deltaport Third Birth Project.

Over the past year, Port Metro Vancouver and Ministry of Transportation have been working with the Corporation of Delta to finalize improvements to Highway 17 that will benefit the community.

"The improvements to Highway 17 will help to mitigate the additional truck trips that will be generated as part of the Deltaport Third Berth Project," said Captain Gordon Houston, president and CEO of Port Metro Vancouver. "The project is expected to be complete by August 2008 in advance of the completion of the Deltaport Third Berth Project."

The $3.2 million improvement project, funded by Port Metro Vancouver and implemented by MOT, consists of improvements to the Highway 17 northbound off-ramp that leads onto Highway 99 southbound; extension of the northbound HOV lane on Highway 17 south of Ladner Trunk Road; signal modifications at Highway 17 and Ladner Trunk Road; and improvements to the left turning lanes from Ladner Trunk Road eastbound onto Highway 17 northbound.

The Deltaport Third Berth Project will add a third berth to the existing two berth terminal at the Deltaport container terminal.