If you’re heading to New West from Surrey this coming weekend, you’ll have to find an alternate route to the Pattullo Bridge – and the same thing goes if you usually travel along Royal Avenue to get across town.
Fraser Crossing Partners, which is building the Pattullo Bridge replacement project, will be closing part of Royal Avenue to replace the Royal Avenue overpass bridge deck. It will also be closing northbound lanes on the Pattullo Bridge.
On Friday, April 28, the Royal Avenue off-ramp from the bridge connector northbound will be reduced to one lane from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
From 7 p.m. on Friday, April 28 until 5 a.m. on Monday, May 1, several closures are in effect: a full weekend closure on Royal Avenue in both directions between McBride Boulevard and the Royal Avenue on-ramp; a full closure of the bridge connector; and a full closure of the Pattullo Bridge northbound lanes (heading to Surrey to New West).
According to the team working on the Pattullo Bridge replacement project, the following detour routes will be provided during the weekend closures:
Royal Avenue eastbound: The Royal Avenue on-ramp to the Pattullo Bridge will remain open. Eastbound through-traffic will be detoured to Columbia Street via Sixth Street.
Bridge connector southbound: During the Bridge connector closure, southbound traffic will be detoured to Columbia Street via McBride Boulevard. The on-street parking on McBride Boulevard (north of Royal Avenue) will be temporarily removed to accommodate two-way traffic. The Columbia Street on-ramp to the Pattullo will remain open.
McBride Boulevard northbound: Left turns from McBride onto Royal Avenue will only be permitted for local traffic accessing Leopold Place. There will be no access onto Royal from Bushby Street.
Pedestrians and cyclists: The temporary pedestrian bridge on Royal Avenue will be closed due to safety precautions. Pedestrians and cyclists will be detoured to the Central Valley Greenway via First Street and McBride Boulevard.
The project team recommends that northbound Pattullo Bridge users take the Port Mann or Alex Fraser during the closure. Northbound N19 NightBus trips will be rerouted over the Queensborough and Alex Fraser bridges, and affected customers are warned to plan for an additional 30 minutes of travel time.
The project team recently gave an update of the project to city council, at which time it provided details on some road closures that will be required in the coming months.
