Single lane opens on Pattullo Bridge replacement amid cost overruns

The long-awaited Pattullo Bridge replacement has opened to a single lane of traffic and lingering questions about costs.

The long-awaited Pattullo Bridge replacement opened to a single lane of traffic Wednesday, marking a major milestone in the $1.6-billion project.

It was a soggy start to the life for the stal̕əw̓asəm Bridge between Surrey and New Westminster, while the aging Pattullo remains open in both directions.

The new crossing—which was given a hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ name meaning “a space where you can view the river,” and is also known as the Riverview Bridge—will be opened up in phases, with the next step scheduled for next month.

“I’m very, very pleased to see the new bridge open today, albeit just one lane,” Surrey Coun. Linda Annis told CTV News on Wednesday.

“But it gives me confidence the rest will be open very, very soon. It will provide a lot more safe transportation travelling between Surrey and New Westminster.”

Questions remain about whether building one with just four lanes was the right call by the provincial government.

“We need to ensure that we’re building for the future to accommodate this growing need here in Surrey and throughout the region,” Annis said. “I would have liked to have seen more lanes on the new bridge, but the good news is that people will be able to travel quicker because the bridge is safer.”

Then there’s the issues of how long it took to build, given that the original plan was for a 2023 opening.

“Two years is unacceptable,” said Misty Van Popta, the B.C. Conservative infrastructure critic.

“The construction industry is a resilient industry. I come from a construction background. I was delivering in that same COVID era,” she added, referencing the rationale the province has previously cited as a contributor to construction delays.

“There’s systemic problems within both the Ministry of Transportation and the Infrastructure Ministry with how they deliver projects, and how they’re managed,” she added. “And a lot of it is just bureaucracy. A lot of it is just regulations.”

Cost overruns during the construction process have also been a problem—to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars—with work still ongoing.

“Every month that a project like this is delayed is millions and millions and millions of dollars (added) to the bottom line of the project,” Van Popta said. “That’s not accounting for business loss for individual business owners on either side of the bridge, as well.”

The nearly 90-year-old Pattullo Bridge is still open to traffic in both directions, with the province hoping the new bridge will be fully open by February.

Both the stal̕əw̓asəm and Pattullo bridges will be closed in the third week of January to make way for construction, officials have said.

Transportation Minister Mike Farnworth was unavailable for an interview Wednesday.

Once all four lanes of the new crossing are opened, the province will begin tearing down the 90-year-old Pattullo, a process that’s expected to take around two years.