Pattullo Bridge closing for repairs over the weekend
Posted July 14, 2017 3:14 pm.
Last Updated July 15, 2017 7:31 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
NEW WESTMINSTER (NEWS 1130) – Your commute between Surrey and New Westminster may take a little longer this weekend — the Pattullo Bridge is shutting down for repairs.
Some of the repairs include fixing failures in the south approach, repairing concrete beneath the asphalt, replacing luminaire posts for lights, installing new pedestrian railings and repainting parts of the bridge and road markings.
According to Translink, the bridge is 30 years past its best before date, and making key repairs is necessary.
“We’ve been temporarily repairing these potholes since the winter, but they really need a permanent fix. So that’s going to mean we will have to close the bridge to vehicles.”
Construction manager Bob Moore says all the work being done now is piecemeal.
“My whole maintenance ethos is based around that premise that by 2023 there’ll be a new bridge in place. So everything we do is based on preserving the bridge to that point.”
It is expected to reopen to cars by 5 am on Monday, but pedestrians, cyclists, and emergency vehicles will still be able to use the bridge in the meantime.
“The condition, the rust on the bridge, the swollen concrete is one thing, but the bigger threat is what you don’t see, which is in the river. The riverbed under this bridge is extremely active.”
The company’s plans for an estimated $1-billion new bridge were thrown into uncertainty by provincial election results, the designation of NDP leader John Horgan as premier and his party’s promise to eliminate tolls on all bridges.
Tolls from the Port Mann were seen as a means to fund a new Pattullo.
