The Pattullo is looking good. Steady pace with no delays.
Those aren’t comments you often hear about the Pattullo Bridge during the morning rush hour, but that’s what you would have heard on Monday morning if you tuned into local traffic reports. After four months of lane closures to allow repairs to be done to the aging structure, TransLink reopened all four lanes to traffic on Monday morning – a month earlier than anticipated.
Since April 29, construction crews have repaired 1,180 square metres of bridge deck and done 67 full-depth repairs including removing all the deck concrete down to the top layer of rebar, repairing the concrete, cleaning or replacing rebar and repaving the deck area with a concrete overlay.
According to TransLink, work has focused on essential deck repairs needed to extend the life of the 79-year-old bridge. TransLink sought to do the minimum maintenance required to keep the bridge operational while a new bridge is designed and built – something expected to take up to seven years.
During the construction program, traffic on the Pattullo Bridge was reduced to two lanes – one in each direction. The bridge was completely closed to traffic some evenings and weekends for construction.
News that the Pattullo Bridge was reopening to full capacity had some New West residents breathing a sigh of relief, while others expressed disappointed that more commuter traffic could soon be returning to the Royal City.
“I think it will take a period of a week or so before traffic reverts back to the preconstruction level,” said Eugene Wat, the city’s manager of infrastructure planning. “Drivers are gradually adjusting to the resurfaced four-lane Pattullo Bridge. The start of the school year next week will no doubt increase the traffic throughout the region, including those crossing the Pattullo Bridge.”
