TransLink is closing one of Metro Vancouver’s busiest bridges for maintenance work this weekend, forcing tens of thousands of motorists onto alternative routes.
The Pattullo Bridge, which sees an average of 58,000 vehicle crossings on Saturdays and Sundays, is being shut down from 9 p.m. Friday right until 3 a.m. Monday.
TransLink spokesman Derek Zabel said even cyclists and pedestrians are being turned away due to safety concerns.
“We need to do things like regular maintenance, we need to repair the asphalt and some of the concrete,” Zabel said. “It wouldn’t be safe for people crossing.”
The only vehicles that will be allowed to cross over the weekend are ambulances.
Motorists who don’t want to pay a toll on the Port Mann Bridge have a few free alternatives, including driving through the Massey Tunnel or crossing the Alex Fraser Bridge.
“Of course, transit is a very viable option as well,” Zabel added.
The closure is just the first of three planned for the summer. The other two will take place the weekends of August 10 and August 24, and TransLink has warned there could be a fourth closure if maintenance is stalled by heavy rainfall.
The fourth weekend would take place on September 7.
TransLink is currently in the process of gathering public input about whether to replace or refurbish the 76-year-old Pattullo Bridge, but expects it to remain in its current form for at least another decade.
A $150 million seismic upgrade is planned for the crossing regardless of which plan is decided on.
With a report from CTV British Columbia’s Maria Weisgarber
