Major repair work on the Pattullo Bridge gets underway later this week

SURREY (NEWS 1130) – Driver beware. Major, rolling closures are getting underway this week on the Pattullo Bridge between New Westminster and Surrey. And it could leave some of you adding an extra 40 minutes to your commute in the morning and a half hour during the afternoon rush hour.

New Westminster Mayor Jonathan Cote understands drivers will be frustrated with the expected congestion, but feels there’s no choice as, he explains, they’ll be waiting several more years to replace the aging span.

“We’re doing our best to mitigate the traffic impacts on our local neighbourhoods and in our commercial districts as much as possible and we’re hopeful traffic will be able to adjust to other areas.”

As a workaround until the closures are lifted sometime in October, he’s asking drivers to consider taking transit. “There is no doubt we’re frustrated. The challenge is we have a bridge that is way passed its life expectancy. We’re probably going to need another five or seven years before we’re going to have a replacement.”

This partial shut down comes as the City of New Westminster deals with the ongoing closure of Front Street.

“It’s unfortunate that these two projects are overlapping, but the Front Street project is on schedule and we are hoping to re-open Front Street in July so that should provide a little bit of relief.”

TransLink tweaked the cost of repairs to the crossing from $100 million to $10 million after realizing it would be too expensive.

In a bid to help ease any issues, six additional parking locations near New Westminster Station, Scott Road Station and Surrey Central Station are being opened. Those are in addition to existing Park and Ride lots, to make it easier for drivers to connect to transit. Additional service hours have also been added to the 101, 104, 128, 155, 340 and the 410 bus routes.

CLOSURES:

  • *The bridge will close from the evening on April 29 (8 p.m.) to the morning of May 2 (5 a.m.) to allow crews to set up for construction work. The bridge will also close from the evening of Sept. 30 (8 p.m.) to the morning of Oct. 3 (5 a.m.) for crews to remove equipment
  • From May 2 to Sept. 30, the bridge will remain open with one lane in each direction
  • There will be truck access
  • The bridge will be closed to all traffic two nights a week and one weekend a month.
  • Pedestrians and cyclists will still be able to use the bridge, even during evening and weekend closures
  • Minor vehicle incidents on the bridge will cause significant delays and potentially a full bridge closure

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