Aging bridge to be replaced

B.C. to pay for, build new bridge in Metro Vancouver

NEW WESTMINSTER, B.C. — The British Columbia government has taken on the construction and cost of replacing a major commuter crossing in Metro Vancouver, freeing $1.37 billion for other transit projects in the area.

Premier John Horgan announced Friday that his government would solely fund a new Pattullo Bridge spanning the Fraser River between Surrey and New Westminster.

The four-lane bridge was at the top of the priority list for Translink’s Mayors’ Council, which represents all Lower Mainland municipalities’ issues of transit and transportation.

The original bridge opened in 1937 and was expected to have a lifespan of 50 years.

Horgan said it is “well past its best-before date.”

But the announcement has deeper political implications and signals a better working relationship between the provincial NDP government and the Mayors’ Council.

“This is not just a bridge across the river. It’s a bridge between governments,” Horgan said at a news conference Friday, with the aging bridge in the background. “For too long the provincial government pointed at municipalities and blamed them for a lack of progress.”

The Mayors’ Council launched a campaign leading up to last May’s provincial election, telling voters that the next B.C. government needed to invest more in transportation around Metro Vancouver.

At the time, the federal government and the governing B.C. Liberals had pledged $4.4 billion for transit improvements, but Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson said that wasn’t enough to fund the Mayors’ Council’s 10-year plan.

A 2016 report outlining the condition of the Pattullo Bridge said it must be replaced or closed by 2023.

The report said the bridge may not be able to withstand an earthquake or even a powerful wind storm.

Construction on the new bridge is expected to start by 2019, with traffic expected to start flowing by 2023.

Transportation Minister Claire Trevena said the new bridge will ensure public safety and make it easier to connect between Surrey and New Westminster.