New, tolled four-lane bridge best option for aging Pattullo: City of New Westminster

The City of New Westminster weighed in on the replacement of the Pattullo Bridge this morning. City officials say the best option to deal with severe congestion and the aging structure is a new, tolled four-lane bridge.

Mayor Wayne Wright says the Pattullo Bridge connection is crucial to the city’s transportation infrastructure but with more than 6,000 trips per day and a 75 per cent increase in truck traffic on Royal Avenue, the solution cannot bring more traffic to the city.

The new bridge option, which is estimated at $850 million, will have pedestrian and cycling facilities. The city said they prefer the four-lane versus six-lane option as any unnecessary money spent on the bridge would restrict the ability to fund other much-needed transit projects like Surrey’s Light Rail Transit.

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The other option the city would support is a new four-lane bridge between Surrey and Coquitlam combined with a two- or three-lane rehabilitation to the Pattullo Bridge. According to the city’s numbers, traffic volume would increase by 3,000 vehicles per day on a six-lane bridge but the extra cost would be $500 million.

This second solution would address several issues that nearby residents have raised regarding truck traffic by giving the area additional capacity across the Fraser river.

The mayor also stated another important part of the solution is getting the South Fraser Perimeter Road connected to Highway 1 and the Port Mann Bridge done in a more timely and cost-efficient manner.

Wright said they’ll be presenting their options and additional information to the Minister by Apr. 15.

However, Transportation Minister Todd Stone put cold water on Wright’s proposal later in the day.

“Any suggestion on tolling or not tolling a new structure is premature. If it was to be tolled, that would seem to be contradictory to the provincial tolling policy,” he said, referring the government’s policy of having a free alternative for people if their is a tolled method of transportation between regions.

“The city of New Westminster really needs to come to the table with a clear plan on what they intend to do to decongest their own road network,” he said.

“There’s no point in building a new structure that would then take motorists into a wall on the New Westminster side.”