[deasine]

From TransLink:

May 30, 2008
Future of Pattullo Bridge to be determined in July

The completion of TransLink’s Pattullo Corridor Study in July will provide options for the future of the Pattullo Bridge crossing, which will include twinning or replacing the current structure as a permanent solution to the problems currently faced by motorists and truckers on the bridge.The analysis of traffic along the McBride/Pattullo/King George Highway corridor will help the TransLink Board decide whether the current structure should be kept in service for the long run or whether it is more feasible to construct a whole new bridge. This decision will determine the amount of rehabilitation work that will be done on the current structure.
The Pattullo Bridge was built in 1937 and transferred to TransLink in 1999. Since then, TransLink has spent about $20 million to combat corrosion and implement a series of safety measures recommended in a review in 2002. Further rehabilitation work could extend the life of the Pattullo by at least 50 years at a cost of up to $200 million, but that alone will not solve the fact that the traffic lanes that are significantly narrower than on modern bridges.


The Pattullo Bridge currently handles 67,000 car and 3,400 truck trips per day and is a key link in Metro Vancouver’s major arterial road network. The installation of a centre line barrier on the bridge would require steps that would reduce the volume or type of traffic the bridge could handle.
Based on a technical review of the bridge and its approaches, the option of installing a centreline barrier is not desirable unless it is reconfigured to operate on a three-lane counter-flow system or unless large vehicles including transport trucks are banned from the bridge. This conclusion is based on the findings that an effective barrier would make the current traffic lanes too narrow.


A study of the three-lane counter-flow option concluded that it would result in significant traffic congestion in New Westminster and Surrey. An analysis of truck traffic on the Pattullo indicates that banning heavy vehicles would result in a significant barrier to goods movement because of the number of ‘short-haul’ transport trucks currently using the crossing.
Any decision to install a barrier would have to include a major rehabilitation of the bridge deck in order to maintain four lanes of traffic.
Because of the impact of reducing the volume of traffic on the bridge and the cost of strengthening the structure, both prerequisites to installing a barrier, TransLink has decided to continue to operate the Pattullo Bridge as a four-lane bridge for passenger and commercial vehicles with night time centre lane closures.

To reduce the risk of crashes TransLink has reduced the speed limit from 60 kph to 50 kph, improved signage and installed reflective pickets on the centre line. TransLink also instituted nighttime closures of the two centre lanes in the summer of 2005, and since then there have been no fatal collisions on the bridge at night.



While TransLink has taken steps to improve traffic safety, the most important safety measure is in the hands of motorists, who are reminded to use caution and obey posted speed limits when using the Pattullo.