Motorists travelling been New Westminster and Surrey won’t be able to take the Pattullo Bridge on Sunday night.
TransLink has announced that the Pattullo Bridge will be closed to traffic in both directions overnight on Sunday, Oct. 6, to allow for inspection, seismic monitoring testing, and repairs. Following Sunday night’s work, overnight directional closures will be in place for four consecutive nights to complete related work.
According to TransLink, the annual inspection and railing repairs will be carried out by a snooper truck that takes up multiple lanes of traffic.
“The inspection is part of the ongoing maintenance program for the Pattullo Bridge,” said a TransLink news release. “Additionally, these closures are necessary to test the Seismic Early Warning and Wind Monitoring System on the bridge, which is required annually.”
TransLink is recommending that motorists take the Port Mann or Alex Fraser bridges as alternatives to the Pattullo Bridge. N19 NightBus trips affected by closures will be rerouted over the Alex Fraser and Queensborough bridges between New Westminster and Scott Road stations.
The Pattullo Bridge will remain open to pedestrians, cyclists, and first responders at all times.
More Pattullo work
Fraser Crossing Partners, which is building the Pattullo Bridge replacement, will take advantage of TransLink’s bridge closure to do some work on its project.
It will be doing work in New Westminster on Oct. 7 and 9 between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m.:
- On Monday, Oct. 7, Fraser Crossing Partners will be conducting nighttime utility and road work on Bridge Connector and a section of McBride Boulevard north of Royal Avenue.
- On Wednesday, Oct. 9, crews working on the Pattullo Bridge replacement project will be replacing streetlights along the Royal Avenue off-ramp.
“This work will be concurrent with TransLink’s closures of the Pattullo Bridge to minimize impacts to drivers and nearby residents,” said a notice from the Pattullo Bridge replacement team.
According to the notice, construction activities such as excavation, backfilling, and road paving are required while work is underway and may result in periods of noise. A small amount of saw cutting will also be required on the night of Monday, Oct. 7 and will be completed as quickly and as early in the evening as possible.
“Nearby residents may hear noise from saw cutting, as well as heavy equipment used for road work. Saw cutting will be done as soon as the road closure has been implemented and will be completed as quickly as possible,” said the notice. “We appreciate your patience while this work is underway.”
