New statistics reveal the most dangerous bridges in Metro Vancouver, including one crossing that saw almost 500 crashes last year alone.
There were 197 collisions that resulted in death or injury on the Knight Street Bridge in 2013 and another 294 that damaged vehicles, according to the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia.
The Lions Gate Bridge connecting Vancouver to the North Shore saw 166 in total, followed by the Pattullo Bridge linking Surrey and New Westminster at 164. Vancouver’s Burrard Street Bridge and Oak Street Bridge saw 162 and 131, respectively.
Only one of the crossings has witnessed a significant increase in accidents that killed or hurt people in recent years, however: the 77-year-old Pattullo Bridge.
The span, which is notorious for its narrow lanes and head-on collisions, has become increasingly busy since tolls were imposed on the new Port Mann Bridge in 2012.
According to ICBC, fatal and injurious accidents spiked from 28 in 2011 to 62 last year, an increase of 169 per cent.
“It’s not a safe bridge,” said Surrey Coun. Tom Gill. “If we continue utilizing this particular bridge, we’re going to see many more incidents and accidents… resulting in a lot of fatalities that don’t necessarily need to happen.”
According to Surrey, Pattullo traffic has increased more than 19 per cent in the past two years. Coun. Barinder Rasode said politicians have been talking about a replacement bridge for a decade, but there’s been no action.
“The Pattullo Bridge is not only unsafe because of the age and how decrepit it is, but if there was a seismic incident, the bridge would not sustain itself. There would be many casualties,” Rasode said.
Earlier this year, officials said fist-sized pieces of concrete had been falling off the Pattullo onto the roads and river below, and TransLink promised to set up netting to catch it.
The transit authority said a decision on a new bridge could be reached by fall 2014.
With a report from CTV Vancouver’s Michele Brunoro
