Pattullo Bridge to fully re-open Monday

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NEW WESTMINSTER (NEWS 1130) – TransLink’s deck rehabilitation project on the Pattullo Bridge is actually four to five weeks ahead of schedule and is expected to be re-opened to its full capacity of four lanes by Monday, August 29th.

TransLink says the bridge will continue overnight lane closures that were in place before work began, citing safety concerns. One lane will be open in each direction overnight.

Added overnight closures through the summer months allowed crews to make up for time lost due to a rainy June.

“Largely what was expected. We didn’t run into any unusual or unexpected circumstances that might’ve been more complicated and take more time, hence we’ll be able to open about a month early,” says TransLink CEO Kevin Desmond.

Desmond says work will continue on the bridge in the weeks to come but won’t have traffic implications.

And of course, in the long-term, the aim is to build a new crossing given the age of the Pattullo.

The original plan warned of traffic disruptions into October, but will be open in time for Labour Day long weekend traffic.

According to TransLink, crews repaired 1,180 square metres of the bridge deck.

It is still unknown if the repairs are on budget as work is still ongoing.

New Westminster councillor Chuck Puchmayr is relieved to hear traffic will be able to use all the lanes, even as repairs continue.

“We were experiencing absolutely ridiculous driving habits; people doing absolutely anything they could to get onto the bridge,” he says. “A lot of panic, hostility and rat running through our neighbourhoods.”

However, he believes the money spent to repair the aging bridge would have still been better spent on building a new four-lane toll bridge in its place.

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