Pattullo maintenance revives talk of replacement under new government

NEW WESTMINSTER (NEWS 1130) – Maintenance work on the Pattullo Bridge this weekend is reviving talk about its possible replacement.

A local councillor hopes it will be a priority for the new NDP government taking power next week.

During the campaign, then-candidate John Horgan promised to immediately fund a Pattullo replacement, as part of the NDP’s $10 billion capital plan.

New Westminster City Councillor Chuck Puchmayr is hopeful that pledge will be met now that the NDP is forming government, with Green Party support.

“We’ll see how this plays out, of course. A change of government may fast track some of the Pattullo, we’ll have to see when the new government is sworn in.”

“Certainly the overtures during the campaign have been to work with the Mayors Council and to work with the regional transporation plan that the mayors put together. I’m optimistic we’re going to get a better approach to the Pattullo Bridge issue.”

If and when funding is secured, TransLink, which operates the bridge, hopes to begin construction in 2019.

“(In the meantime), it is necessary to keep that bridge as safe as possible until such time as the new bridge is constructed,” Puchmayr says.

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