METRO VANCOUVER — TransLink expects it will have to plow at least another $300,000 into the Pattullo Bridge next year while it decides whether to rebuild or refurbish the aged crossing.
The funding is needed to upgrade the deck on the crossing, which is at risk of crumbling in an earthquake, to keep it functioning through to the end of the decade, said Bob Paddon, TransLink executive vice-president of strategic planning and public affairs.
“If we get a definitive decision on how to approach the bridge then we will look very carefully at how much we need to spend,†he said.
TransLink is now leaning toward a new four or six-lane bridge to replace the aging Pattullo. The two options have come on top for further study as part of a review by TransLink and Surrey and New Westminster municipalities on how to deal with the 76-year-old crossing.
“We’re still having discussions but at this point the team has recognized those two do deserve further consideration,†Paddon said. “We’re going to take it to the public and see what they have to say.â€
TransLink expects to hold a public consultation on the proposed bridge options this spring, in hopes of coming up with a plan to tie in with the regional mayors’ vision for transportation priorities, which must be given to the provincial government by June 30.
Paddon said another two potential options — a four-lane bridge between Coquitlam and Surrey and three-lane rehabilitated Pattullo, plus a rehabilitated four-lane Pattullo — haven’t been ruled out but are on the margin and may not be viable.
He noted a new four-lane bridge across the Fraser River, which is favoured by New Westminster, is “pricey and may not do the things everyone hopes it might do.†Surrey, meanwhile, wants a new six-lane bridge.
Paddon expects it would take at least five years to build a replacement bridge.
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