Logjam over financing new Pattullo Bridge finally broken

The new Pattullo Bridge will be built by the provincial government, at a cost of $1.377 billion. Premier John Horgan made that announcement Friday morning in New Westminster. It is set to open in 2023.



Premier John Horgan was in New Westminster Friday morning to announce the replacement of the Pattullo Bridge.
The province has finally broken the lengthy and frustrating logjam over financing of a new bridge. It has taken over the project in its entirety, and will pay the $1.377 billion to build the new bridge and demolish the old one when the new bridge opens in 2023. Construction is set to begin in the summer of 2019.
The Pattullo Bridge was originally built by the provincial government in the days when T.D. Pattullo was premier. It opened in 1937 during his second term as premier and has borne his name since it opened. It was a major and much-needed public works project in the midst of the Great Depression, at a time when all governments, including the province, had very little money to spare.
When TransLink was set up under the NDP government of Glen Clark, as part of the wheeling and dealing to set up a more locally-controlled approach to transportation, the Pattullo became TransLink’s responsibility.


Even then, in the late 1990s, the bridge was nearing the end of its lifespan. Expensive seismic upgrading had taken place during the 1980s, but more was needed and the steel of the bridge itself was showing its age. TransLink directors talked many times about the need to replace it, and it was placed on a number of priority lists ­– but TransLink never found the capital funds needed to replace it.
TransLink plans, right up to the time of the last provincial election, called for any replacement bridge to be a toll bridge. Of course, Horgan campaigned (and won enough seats to form a minority government) on a promise to get rid of existing tolls, so the TransLink plan was effectively dead in the water.
The new Mayors’ Council chair Derek Corrigan, mayor of Burnaby, rightly identified replacement of the bridge as a top priority when he ousted Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson from the post in December. Horgan and Corrigan are quite friendly, and there may well have been some quiet discussion in the past few months about how to proceed with the project. The first public clue that something was in the works came in last week’s throne speech.
The new bridge will be built slightly upstream of the current bridge, closer to the rail bridge which was the original crossing of the river. Built in 1904, it once had an upper deck for vehicle traffic (which was mainly horses and buggies at that time). That was removed when the Pattullo Bridge opened, but it is still heavily used by rail traffic.
It will be four lanes, but can be expanded to six. There will be cycling and pedestrian lanes on both sides of the bridge, protected from traffic by concrete barriers. This is very similar to the way cyclists and pedestrians are able to cross the Burrard Street bridge in Vancouver – something we had the chance to do for the first time as cyclists on Monday. It is very safe.
It is interesting that no one from Surrey was acknowledged as attending the premier’s announcement Friday morning. Numerous NDP MLAs and mayors were welcomed to the announcement, but none of them were from Surrey – even though the Pattullo is a very important connection to Surrey, and Surrey’s continued growth is a key reason why the bridge needs to be replaced.
Surrey Board of Trade has already stated this morning that the bridge should be six lanes wide when it opens, but that idea has been very unpopular in New Westminster. There are plenty of Surrey drivers plugging New Westminster streets every workday, as they attempt to get to and from the Port Mann, Pattullo and Alex Fraser bridges. New Westminster is rapidly becoming more high-density residential and is attempting to encourage its residents to use transit and bicycles more often, and vehicles less often.


Delta Mayor Lois Jackson feels the announcement of the new Pattullo effectively means there will be no replacement of the Massey Tunnel. Horgan was asked about that Friday, and said the tunnel replacement project planned by the former BC Liberal government is under review. Time will tell what will happen at that very important, and equally outdated, Fraser River crossing.
 


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