Pattullo Bridge
| Pattullo Bridge | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Coordinates | 49°12′27″N 122°53′41″W / 49.207575°N 122.894654°WCoordinates: 49°12′27″N 122°53′41″W / 49.207575°N 122.894654°W |
| Carries | Four lanes of British Columbia Highway 1A/99A, pedestrians and bicycles |
| Crosses | Fraser River |
| Locale |
New Westminster Surrey |
| Maintained by | TransLink |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Through arch bridge |
| Total length | 1227 m |
| History | |
| Opened | November 15, 1937 |
The Pattullo Bridge is a through arch bridge that crosses the Fraser River and links the city of New Westminster, to the city of Surrey in British Columbia. The bridge was named in honour of Thomas Dufferin Pattullo, the 22nd Premier of British Columbia. A key link between Surrey and the rest of Greater Vancouver, the Pattullo bridge handles an average of 75,700 cars and 3840 trucks daily, or roughly 20 percent of vehicle traffic across the Fraser River as of 2013.
The first regular crossing of the Fraser River started in 1882, and was operated by a steam ferry named K de K, which transported residents and livestock from Brownsville to New Westminster. During the late 1890s, the need for a new bridge became apparent after the existing ferry was deemed insufficient to handle future traffic demands. The first bridge started construction in 1902, with completion in 1904. The bridge was built with two decks, the upper deck handling vehicular traffic and the lower deck functioning as a railway bridge.
Again, growing traffic demands prompted the construction of a second bridge in 1936. The bridge was designed by supervising engineer Major W.G. Swan, and construction was tendered to the Dominion Bridge Company and Northern Construction & J.W. Stewart Ltd. The Pattullo Bridge was opened to traffic on November 15, 1937 by Premier "Duff" Pattullo, with a total cost of $4 million. The bridge was originally tolled at 25¢ per crossing, but was then removed in 1952. The old bridge, now known today as the New Westminster Rail Bridge was converted to rail use only, and highway traffic was moved to the Pattullo Bridge.
The Pattullo Bridge is 1,227 meters (4,026 ft) in total length, and consists of four lanes, with two in each direction. The bridge has no barrier of any sort in the centre, making it highly prone to head-on collisions, especially at excessive speed or in bad weather. In recent years, TransLink has closed the middle lanes to traffic from 10:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. in an effort to lower the high number of head-on collisions, and installed a series of plastic pillars to raise the visibility of the centre-lane divider. On January 2, 2006, four people were killed in a T-bone collision between two cars on the southern approach lane.
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Wikipedia