There’s outrage among some Lower Mainland politicians over a decision to spend $300 million to upgrade the aging Pattullo Bridge, while there’s still talk of building a new one.
On Friday, Translink announced it had new information suggesting the state of the 76-year-old bridge linking Surrey and New Westminster needs to be fixed immediately.
Translink had floated six options for what to do with the bridge, including building a new one at an estimated cost of $1 billion.
Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie, who sits on the mayor’s council for Translink, says the idea of spending so much money just to bandage the bridge, instead of a long term solution, makes no sense.
“You don’t spend $300 million in a vacuum. You spend it in the context of regional needs. Now we have $300 million to spend on a new bridge that is nearing the end of its life.”
“It all needs to be coordinated. The general public doesn’t care about the different jurisdictions, they just want to get from A to B in a logical manner.”
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