2 years behind schedule, the Pattullo Bridge replacement nears completion
Province says $1.637-billion project expected to open in fall 2025, after years of delays
An 80-metre gap is all that separates the main bridge deck from the north ramp of B.C.'s Pattullo Bridge replacement. High above the Fraser River, construction crews work to connect the two sides, one rebar at a time.
The space may look vast, but engineer Wendy Itagawa says it's a relatively small section of the bridge's 1,200-metre length.
"We're getting really close now," said Itagawa, who is the executive director of the Pattullo Bridge Replacement Project. "We're installing the cables and the deck, and we'll be connecting to the north side later this summer."
The project broke ground in 2020 and has faced years of delays, but Itagawa says it's on track now for its fall 2025 opening.
About 450 people regularly work on the $1.673-billion infrastructure project, which will replace the aging Pattullo Bridge that connects New Westminster and Surrey.
Aging Pattullo and delays
Built in the 1930s, the Pattullo Bridge serves about 60,000 drivers daily. But over the past two decades, concerns over the bridge's safety and integrity have mounted.
In 2016, a report presented to TransLink's board of directors showed the bridge did not meet modern wind and seismic safety standards. The report to Metro Vancouver's transit authority recommended the bridge be replaced by no later than 2024.
The province greenlit a new bridge in 2018. Two years later, in 2020, a team of contractors collectively known as the Fraser Crossing Partners was awarded a $967.5-million contract to replace the bridge. Construction began that February.
About a year into construction, the opening of the bridge was delayed from 2023 to 2024. At the time, the government attributed delays to on-site investigative work and permitting holdups due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Last year, it was delayed until fall 2025, with officials citing inflationary pressures and global supply issues. The province also said the 167-metre bridge tower, the tallest of its kind in B.C., took longer to build than expected.
New bridge, new name
The current Pattullo Bridge has four lanes of traffic. Opposing directions of traffic are divided by plastic stakes and pedestrians and cyclists share a single sidewalk crossing the bridge.
Over the years, Surrey and New Westminster have been at odds over how many lanes the replacement should have, with Surrey advocating for a six-lane bridge, but New Westminster wanting to maintain four.
The province says the replacement bridge will have four lanes, a decision made following community consultation and based on current road network capacity limits. However, the bridge is wide enough to be expanded into six lanes in the future.
There will be dedicated walking and bike paths on both sides of the bridge, along with a centre median.
And it won't share its predecessor's namesake.
Itagawa says as part of the project's cultural recognition program, the bridge's new name will reflect the Fraser River's significance to local First Nations, including the Musqueam and Kwantlen nations.
Indigenous artwork
The project will also feature artwork from Kwantlen First Nation artist Phyllis Atkins, whose design featuring sturgeon and eulachon will be engraved on the Highway 17 overpass at Old Yale Road.
The design includes replicas of sturgeon scutes, the bone plates the fish have on their backs. Atkins says she was inspired by her time studying the fish along the Fraser River.
"It was life changing being right on the river in our unceded traditional territory of Kwantlen. We had sites right up and down the Fraser," said Atkins. "I got to see first-hand the perspective of the river our people used to travel and fish for thousands of years. I really felt that connection."