The Pattullo Bridge is long overdue for an upgrade and Translink has recently announced a set of preview events so that the public can review the proposed plans.

Photo credit: waferboard on Flickr

Open House:
September 14th from 5:30pm to 8:30pm
Chuck Baillie Community Centre at 13458-107A Avenue, Surrey

September 21st from 5:30pm to 8:30pm
Justice Institute at 715 McBride Boulevard, New Westminster

The open houses have been rescheduled to an unknown time in November.

TransLink plans to present several options, including their preferred one, to audiences in Surrey and New Westminster this month. Access on the Surrey side will remain relatively similar to the existing configuration, save for some modifications to 128 St and Scott Road. The major change will be the removal of access to the bridge from Royal Avenue in New Westminster, although connections will remain to Columbia St, McBride Boulevard, and Front St. Following the consultation meetings, TransLink will present a preferred plan to Surrey and New Wesminster councils. [CivicSurrey]

The bridge opened in 1937 (with tolls) and since that time it has been unable to expand and accommodate the growing needs of the traffic crossing the Fraser each day. Built for vehicles that pale in comparison to the semi truck trailers and SUV’s of today, the lanes, grades, and angles of the bridge make it a dangerous crossing for motorists at all hours of the day.

Should the new Pattullo Bridge be tolled, that would mean every single Fraser River crossing direct to Surrey will have a toll.

Photo credit: waferboard on Flickr

I have been writing about the dangers of the bridge and its ridiculous condition for four years now and along with the 70,000 drivers who use it each day, I can’t wait to see the new plans.

Only a week after a fire took out an entire section of this major commuter artery, the Pattullo Bridge will re-open in time for the morning rush hour tomorrow.

The replaced section of the bridge – Photo submitted by Sis604

The Pattullo Bridge will open at 6am, just in time for the Monday morning commute. TransLink says it was a stroke of luck to get it fixed way ahead of schedule.

Crews are putting the final touches on the bridge and are re-paving a significant portion of bridge deck. TransLink CEO Tom Prendergast says it wouldn’t have opened early had it not been for materials from the Canada Line. [News1130]

I’m glad the route will again be open, however I just hope these expedited repairs hold up.

Read more of my Pattullo posts…. History Tidbits, Duff Pattullo, and more.

I recently received an email about the Pattullo; in fact more information came in this email than I could find anywhere else online or on any of my favourite history sites. As I trust the source (more than any online source), I’ll share what has been revealed to me.

“Enclosed attached pics are of the wooden part of the Bridge. Contrary to the reports, the timbers were generally not “creosote soaked.” There were some huge natural beams, at least a foot thick, and they were dry, untreated wood. If you want to see creosote, look at the railway trestle. The bridge timbers were not like that, because they didn’t need to be. They were kept covered and dry, not dug into the peat bog.”

“The Pattullo Bridge was built not on the King George, which did not exist at the time. The main road from the Bridge, constructed along 112 Ave and up Peterson Hill, was the “New Yale Road” and soon after the Yale Road itself would be renamed the Trans-Provincial Highway, and later Trans-Canada Highway.

When the Pattullo was built the Highway was realigned on Peterson Hill and at Whalley’s corner and widened to four lanes. This was the first section of 4-lane highway in the Province of BC. You can still walk the old portions of 2-lane highway on Peterson Hill — this little part of the road looks very much as it did 50 years ago — and at Whalley’s Corner — the section on both sides of 108th Ave, on the east side of the highway where it curves to the south.”

Vancouver Public Library – Public Domain

“Until the 60′s highway addresses in Whalley were Trans Canada Hwy. The Peace Arch Highway was constructed soon after the Pattullo was built. It ran from “White House Corner” — where King George Station is now — to the border. It was renamed with the visit of King George in 1939. “The Junction” where the Peace Arch Highway met the Trans-Canada (King George Stn) was a major bottle neck.

Vancouver Public Library – Public Domain

“The concrete-paved traffic deck of the Pattullo Bridge is 46 feet wide, allowing ample accommodation for four lanes of motor traffic, with a 6-foot sidewalk for pedestrians” trumpeted the Department of Public Works. The highway was widened to the same width. This allowed for four 11-foot lanes and a 2-foot median. There were eight toll-booths on the Surrey side of the Pattullo. The bridge was a hugely controversial project and there was spirited political opposition to its construction. Afterward people complained about the tolls. Scott Road originally met the Highway at an intersection and was the scene of many accidents.”

“Also, it was not that long ago that they moved the lamp standards to the outside of the railing. They used to rise directly above the railing and took out almost as many truck mirrors as did that notorious section of 12th Ave, near Fraser, where the standards stood flush with the curb on a narrow piece of roadway.”

Fraser River Bridge – New Westminster Heritage

“In one picture [in the VPL database] you can see, in the background, the old “Blue Mouse” Hotel of Johnny Wise, built at the time the old bridge was used and torn down soon after the Patullo was constructed. It stood on Bridge Road, named not for the Pattullo, but because it was the access from (Old) Yale Road to the Westminster Bridge. Bridge Road was at first a plank road, looping under the CN trestle and rising to the deck above the railway. It would be nice, in fact the jewel in the crown of cycling and pedestrian routes, to have this historic bridge preserved and used once again in that capacity after it’s replacement is built.”

My personal history with Pattullo goes back about 29 years however the name played an important role for me in high school biology. I used to be able to remember that the knee cap was called the “patella” since it was like a bridge between the femur and tibia (at least in my mind it helped, anyway).

All silliness aside, since the Pattullo Bridge is in the news and affecting lives and commutes more than ever since a fire shut it down days ago, I thought I would discover more about this infamous crossing and the man after which it was named.

Duff Pattullo (left) with Prime Minister W.L. Mackenzie King
and J-A Godbout from McCord Museum

136 years ago, Thomas Dufferin Pattullo was born in Woodstock, Ontario. He traveled west during his formative years and began working in Dawson City government (and was ‘acting assistant gold commissioner’) until he moved to Prince Rupert in 1908 to work in real estate and insurance. He was elected as a Liberal party MLA in 1916 as Minister of Lands Responsible for Forestry and was leader of the opposition from 1928 until 1933 when he was elected Premier of BC. He was the top man in our province until 1941.

Faced with the tremendous economic and social problems of the Great Depression, Pattullo was innovative in extending the role of government. His frustration with the limitations of provincial power led to a battle with Ottawa that resulted in a reappraisal of Canadian federalism. After an inconclusive 1941 election, he rejected a coalition with the Conservatives and was rebuffed by his own party. [Canadian Encyclopedia]

On November 15th, 1937 Duff Pattullo ceremoniously cut a chain-link barrier to officially open the crossing from New Westminster to Surrey, named in his honor.

Construction of the Pattullo from NW Heritage

In brief remarks he told the assembled throng the bridge was a “thing of beauty”. Words other than “beauty” spring to the minds of drivers these days for that bridge. At peak times on the Pattullo 3,700 vehicles an hour (a car a second) speed along its narrow, curving lanes, each just three metres wide each, some 61 centimetres or two feet narrower than today’s standard. [Vancouver History]

In July of 2008, Translink approved the plan to put a toll on the new crossing that would replace the Pattullo however when the bridge as we know it was built it was also tolled and earner the nickname, “Pay Toll O“.

Thomas Dufferin Pattullo himself was laid to rest in Royal Oak Cemetery in Victoria (side note) it’s also where you can also find the final resting place of Frank and Lester Patrick – the brothers who helped found modern hockey and bring it to Vancouver.

Pattullo was a ground-breaking leader in our province and his legacy lives on in the legislature and in our history… even though traffic heading out to Surrey and the valley is currently a nightmare.

I’ve written enough about the Pattullo Bridge over the years that this aging decrepit structure has warranted its own tag; from asbestos in the deck, possible tolls, to lanes that are dangerously slim. Early this morning a fire broke out under its deck, forcing those who depend on it as a Fraser River crossing to take detours.

Photo credit: Paul Hillsdon on Flickr

The Pattullo Bridge is closed after a fire affecting its supports on the Surrey side, raising fears it could be shut for months. Bridge engineers are now inspecting the damage. TransLink spokesman Ken Hardie said nobody should plan to use the bridge tomorrow. He said the worst case scenario is the bridge could be closed for months if major structural repairs are required. [Surrey Leader]

…

A wooden section near the south end of the bridge caught fire. According to TransLink, an arsonist may have been responsible. TransLink engineers examined the damaged trestle to determine if it must be replaced, and Hardie is now saying it “looks like an extended closure.” TransLink is meeting this afternoon with RCMP and transport ministry officials to develop a plan for the area. That will be followed by an announcement from TransLink CEO Tom Prendergast and Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon at 4:30 p.m. [The Province]

To say that this will disrupt the commuting situation is an understatement. 80,000 commuters will be diverted to the Port Mann and Alex Fraser, while hopefully there are some extra SkyTrains running to help get tens of thousands of people to work and back. The Pattullo is an enormous part of our region’s transportation infrastructure and it’s pretty terrible that even after over a dozens deaths due to its narrow lanes and crumbling structure there are still no signs of its replacement on the horizon.

Update: Experts are projecting that the closure will last “from 4 to 6 weeks”. No bikes will be allowed on SkyTrain to accommodate the extra passengers and trains will run earlier, from 4:30am.

Update: Commuters should look at transit as an option. This morning I heard that SkyTrains were no more full than usual however it took about 1.5 hours to go only a few blocks in heavy traffic for the other bridges and routes.

After 71 years, the Pattullo is probably now in its most dangerous condition. Aside from being too narrow for modern-day vehicles and transportation standards, causing dozens to lose theirs lives in recent years, and even being packed with asbestos, the Bridge of Death is just plain scary to cross (so don’t ask why I did it with my Flip yesterday).

There are promises that a new bridge will finally happen (as we’ve been saying all along a median or repairs are not the answer) which means there could be tolls in place. In my opinion as long as the death toll doesn’t rise, let’s get this project going as soon as possible.

Read more in my Pattullo series on Miss604 tag:Pattullo or on Metroblogging Vancouver: August 2006, December 2006, January 2007, July 2007.

What’s next? Dogs with bees in their mouths and when they bark they shoot bees at you? Not quite, but something that should concern commuters yet again is the deterioration of the Pattullo aka Bridge of Death as it has recently been revealed that its deck contains asbestos.

The toxic material was mixed in with the asphalt and laid down on top of the original concrete deck during the 1980s. It’s complicating TransLink’s latest efforts to repave the bridge and better assess its structural safety.

Now classified as a contaminated material, the asphalt can’t just be ground up as it would in most other road projects lest it become a hazardous airborne dust. Instead it must be kept wet and be removed in sealed containers as part of specialized handling and disposal requirements that have kicked in. [Surrey Leader]

No seismic upgrades, no median barrier to prevent head-on crashes, lanes that are obscenely and illegally narrow, and so many lives lost. Translink has put all Pattullo renovations on the backburner so they can figure out what to do about the asbestos in the deck and until they receive reports about the potential widening or twinning of the Bridge of Death. I suppose until then we should all just hold our breath and focus our attention on the beaver situation in Surrey.

(Read any or all of my previous posts about the Pattullo [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9])

Since I had a dream last night that I went to my 10 year high school reunion (which is coming up this spring), this morning’s link fest is dedicated to Surrey… and this morning’s WTS is a link fest.

If you have (or know of) a community not-for-profit organization or upcoming event, feel free to drop me a line (with information or a website address) using the contact form.

Welcome to Thursday, the day before Friday, which is the day before we leave for America to see many members of my in-law family. Here are a few tidbits floating around the news this morning:

- The video caught by a witness to the tasering of a man at YVR earlier this month has been released to the public. In completely unrelated news story released yesterday, did you know Transit cops have been using tasers since the summer? Did you know their tasers have video cameras on them, “The recordings can also provide an accurate record of an incident if someone dies after being hit by a Taser, or if an officer is accused of wrongdoing.” Well that’s good to know.

On the radio this morning they were discussing the video and WHY the public should view it, after all it IS of a man dying. It makes me uneasy and I’ve only seen the first few minutes as it pretty much creeps me out to actually view something like that on film. The debate on the morning show was either a) see the video and form your opinion, b) don’t view it because there’s no need, no one should watch that tragedy or c) you can’t have an opinion unless you DO SEE it. With all the coverage its received in local media I think we’ll all end up seeing most of the video in some form.

This my 1,000th post on Miss604.com
This is what it all looked like after the first year – circa November, 2005

- My nemesis, the Pattullo (aka Bridge of Death) turns 70 today, which is one year older than the Lions Gate – but you can totally tell that the LG has had so much more work done, that perkiness and shade of green just isn’t natural.

- Lululemon stocks plummet yesterday upon speculation that their super secret special sea weed fabric is no different than plain ol’ regular cotton. Honestly, if I were a much more clever person I would say something absolutely witty and Onion-esque right now…

- The Surrey Memorial Hospital Foundation names its new emergency entrance in honor our the South Asian community: “Premier Gordon Campbell joined representatives from Fraser Health and Surrey Memorial Hospital Foundation to unveil plans for the Guru Nanak Emergency Services Front Entrance, which will be the main entryway to the new emergency centre.”

- The Oxford American Dictionary proclaimed that “Locavore” was the Word of the Year for 2007:

“The “locavore” movement encourages consumers to buy from farmers’ markets or even to grow or pick their own food, arguing that fresh, local products are more nutritious and taste better. Locavores also shun supermarket offerings as an environmentally friendly measure, since shipping food over long distances often requires more fuel for transportation.” [OUPBlog].

I am pleased to announce that a runner up for Word of the Year was Pittsburgh’s own “bacn“. Others on the list included “cougar” in the Wheelhouse sense, and “tase”, to be stunned with a taser.

I have written about the Pattullo Bridge at length, well at least I think so as I have numerous posts over the last year on the topic of the Bridge of Death [1][2][3][4][5][6]. The bridge that has caused the death of 21 people since 1990 is being talked about again, as apparently every 6 months people in Metro Vancouver remember about how dangerous it is. It’s as though there’s a big snooze button at Translink meetings that they keep hitting every time the Pattullo is mentioned.

Photo credit: John Bollwitt on Flickr

TransLink is hiring a consultant to study the span, and figure out if it should be twinned, tolled, or torn down and replaced.

Another option is building an entirely new bridge upstream using a man-made island planned for Sapperton Bar. [News1130]

Twinned: Haha oh my, unless they turn it into a pedestrian-only bridge it’s not safe for any vehicles or any kind any more.

Tolled: Yes because charging people to die is even better than letting them do it for free.

Torn Down & Replaced: Demolishing the Pattullo entirely – wow I wish I would have thought of that.

Another travel plan that a reader of mine is taking on is the Surrey Bike Initiative.

I’ve never been much of a cyclist, and I think it’s that exact reason that made me do the research and come up with some solutions that, to me, would make cycling a true transportation and recreation option in Surrey.[PaulHillsdon]

In his detailed plan, elaborated on a website using interactive google maps and images, Paul has outlined the need and practical use for sidepaths, bikepaths, and bike lanes throughout the city. The website and proposed solutions are truly impressive even suggesting that, “if connections were made, could easily become the city’s first bike path, connecting Newton, with Bear Creek Park, the BC Parkway, Green Timbers, Tynehead, and Barnston Island.” [Solutions]. Paul also compares Surrey’s need for such an initiative by stating the facts, clean and simple. Creating alternative means of transportation is also inexpensive and well worthwhile, as Paul goes on to compare the costs incurred by the City of Vancouver when upgrading their cycling networks as well as Metro Vancouver’s Central Valley Greenway. [Cycling]

To provide Paul with some feedback, you can comment on his blog post. By the way, did I mention Paul is a high school student in Surrey? Yeah, pretty humbling for me to come across such an in-depth blog about my hometown, makes my WTS segments seem pretty petty, but it’s a pleasure to feature his hard work here.