Frankly Speaking

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 ...

The Pattullo Bridge is 80 years old this year, but it isn't getting birthday greetings from any politicians or bridge users. The first full weekend closure of the Pattullo Bridge is scheduled to take place this weekend – from 9 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Monday. It is the latest in a series of weekend closures of the bridge over the past few summers, as work crews attempt to apply baling wire and binder twine to keep it patched up a little bit longer. The Pattullo Bridge turned 80 this year, but there has been no celebration of any kind. The bridge has become a sad joke. The never-ending talk of replacement is a perfect reflection of the impotence of TransLink and the oft-fractious relationships between cities north of the Fraser and those on the south side. TransLink has been talking about replacing the bridge for years. It took over the bridge from the provincial government upon its formation almost 20 years ago. The width of a replacement bridge has been contentious, wit...