After a few delays, the Pattullo Bridge Replacement project is finally coming to an end. The newly-constructed bridge will be completed this year, and with it will come its improved lanes and separated bike lanes and pedestrian paths.
But those aren’t the only new things the Pattullo Bridge is getting.
THE PATTULLO BRIDGE REPLACEMENT PROJECT
The Pattullo Bridge was originally expected to open in 2023, although a 2024 completion date looked more realistic as time went on. After that, it was delayed to 2025. Now, the Pattullo Bridge is anticipated to open in the fall of 2025 with an exact date coming soon.
Being 88 years old, the bridge has been in dire need of a makeover. The new Pattullo Bridge now features 10% wider lanes, as well as the possibility to increase its four-lane crossing into six lanes. In general, it will be providing:
- A safer crossing with wider lanes and a centre median that separates traffic travelling in opposite directions.
- Modern lane widths to increase capacity on the bridge by 10%.
- Improved community connections in New Westminster and Surrey.
- Separate pedestrian and cyclist paths.
Additionally, part of the Patullo Bridge Replacement project is a new art installation beneath the Highway 17-Old Yale Road overpass, as well as a new name for the Pattullo Bridge.
HONOURING THE LAND
The Pattullo Bridge was named for Thomas Dufferin Pattullo, British Columbia’s Premier from 1933 to 1941. But this new Patullo Bridge will no longer old Pattullo’s name, as it will be soon replaced with a new name in the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ language.
Working together are the Musqueam First Nation and Kwantlen First Nation to give the bridge its name. No name has been announced yet, although “more details about the name will be shared in the coming months,” said the Government of B.C..
Aside from the Pattullo Bridge’s renaming, the first art installation has been built beneath the Highway 17-Old Yale Road overpass as part of the Pattullo Bride replacement First Nations cultural reognition program. It is a concrete mural featuring two embossed fish along a repeating design. These fish, the sturgeon and eulachon, hold a great importance culturally and ecologically to First Nations communities, and the Fraser River. The artwork was designed by q̓ʷɑt̓ic̓ɑ, Phyllis Atkins, a Kwantlen First Nation artist.
This is only the first step in creating First Nations art in relation to the Pattullo Bridge Replacement project. Expect more artwork and more cultural storytelling throughout the project’s lifetime.
