The venerable Pattullo Bridge is most certainly getting old.
On Nov. 15, this bridge marked the 80th anniversary of its opening in 1937.
It has served very well as a major crossing of the Fraser River, and for a lot of people who call this part of the Lower Mainland home, it has been an important landmark. It has been a major feature of the landscape in New Westminster as well as for the portion of Surrey along the river’s south bank.
It and its two neighbouring bridge structures truly do lay out a history of river crossings locally.
On its upriver side is the railway bridge, which started its life in 1904 as a double-decker crossing with rail on the bottom and road on the top. On its downriver side is SkyBridge, which went into service in 1990 for rapid transit, SkyTrain. All three structures were deemed to be highly innovative when built and drew considerable attention from all across North America.
The bridge is named for the premier of the day, Thomas Dufferin “Duff” Pattullo, who, throughout his political career, was closely connected to the City of Prince Rupert on the northern B.C. coast.
Prior to the early 1880s, crossing the river was primarily done only with a riverboat, a rowboat or canoe.
The first ferry, a simple and quite crude vessel, was the K de K, and it served for a number of years, by which time a better and larger ferry was needed. This second ferry, the Surrey, was put into service in the early 1890s, and it was this vessel and mode of crossing that was replaced by the 1904 railway/road combination.
After about 30 years, discussions began to look at the need for a new bridge that would meet the more modern transportation requirements.
Automobiles and trucks were bigger, the volume of traffic, while nowhere near that of today, had increased, and the old double-decker bridge was, for many, outdated.
After a lot of talk, study, and consultation, the decision on a new crossing was made.
The new bridge would be near the same location as the earlier version, the old one would become rail only, and the traffic needs would be accommodated by the new crossing – this would be the Pattullo Bridge.
