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B.C. government releases designs for new Pattullo Bridge

Project expected to cost $1.377 billion, completed by end of 2023
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The new Pattullo Bridge. (Image: B.C. government artist’s rendering)

The provincial government has released artist’s renderings of the new four-lane Pattullo Bridge in a spring report.

In the Spring 2020 Project Overview, released in late May, states the Pattullo Bridge replacement project is “moving forward.”

The $1.377-billion project, which is expected to open in late 2023 will be designed and built by Fraser Crossing Partners.

READ ALSO: Contractors picked for B.C.’s Pattullo Bridge replacement, Jan. 3, 2020

While the current Pattullo Bridge is owned and operated by TransLink, the new one will be owned and operated by the provincial government.

The new bridge will have wider lanes, separated by a centre median; dedicated walking and cycling paths separated from traffic by a barrier on both sides; and “better connection to, from and near the bridge.” It will be

It will also be built to allow for a potential, future expansion to six lanes.

READ ALSO: Transportation minister insists Pattullo Bridge replacement will handle traffic volume, March 6, 2020

The report states that the new bridge design includes “two in-river piers, reduced from the six the current bridge has in the river,” with one tower, which results in reduced construction work in the river, reduced in-river footprint with fewer direct impact on the habitat and easier navigation in the river because of less infrastructure.

It will also accommodate “habitat development and site restoration” on the Surrey side and the City of New Westminster’s future plans for waterfront greenway.

In Surrey, the new bridge will still connect with King George Boulevard, but it will have a new off-ramp to connect to Highway 17, heading westbound. There will also be “improved” walking and cycling paths to connect to the bridge and greenways.

Highway 17 will also be “grade-separated over Old Yale Road, “improving traffic flow on Highway 17.”

Old Yale Road will also intersect with a new two-way “Bridge Road,” which will be widened from its current one-way.

The Pattullo Bridge, which opened in 1937, has traffic lanes that are “too narrow and the bridge requires lane closures at night for safety,” according to the report.

For the construction timeline, the report states that this fall work will star on the foundation for the main in-river tower/pier, with construction of the tower/pier to be done between 2021 to 2022.

The construction for bridge approaches on both the Surrey and New Westminster sides will take place between fall 2020 and 2023, with bridge deck construction starting in 2022.



Lauren Collins

About the Author: Lauren Collins

I'm a provincial reporter for Black Press Media's national team, after my journalism career took me across B.C. since I was 19 years old.
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