Pattullo Bridge Rehabilitation

[adambomb]

Bro. You can't disagree with my proposal without offering a viable alternative. c'mon man.

I live in Coquitlam as well and deal with the Pinetree/colony farms on a daily basis.

we need new road infrastructure immediately across metro Vancouver. Saying traffic is bad and my neighborhood wont handle increased volume is just plain nimbyism.

Like I said, if you think traffic in our hood is bad now. Wait until you really see the effects of a closed Pattullo. Increased traffic is coming to both our neighborhoods and we have to either deal with it or change current road configurations.

[supafamous]

Originally Posted by adambomb

Remove the Pattullo all together. Take some pics, put 'em in a museum and tear that bridge down.

Build the new 6-8 lane bridge everyone is asking for North/South from Schoolhouse in Coquitlam to King George in Surrey, with exits to United Blvd and SFPR. Use a map for reference. I know its very close to the Port Mann but we need another bridge across the Fraser river and the Pattullo neighbouhoods on both sides are pretty much jammed.

The damage has been done in New West with the new condos and this would give Surrey the option to de-ghetto the Scott Road neighbourhood. Creating new waterfront neighbourhoods for Canadians and their foreign next door neighbours while leaving the existing, operating rail system for them to live with.

There isn't an option to remove the rail system on either side of the river in the current location of the Pattullo. The area i'm proposing is industrial land with rail on both sides. A new bridge and construction during evening hours on industrial land would hopefully see fewer complaints from Metro Vancouver NIMBY's.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braess%27_paradox

Braess Paradox bro. More road != Less Congestion.

More roads invariably lead to the same amount of congestion over time. The only things that reduce congestion is transit and making neighbourhoods more liveable.

I love driving but making more roads doesn't solve anything, it only makes it worse. It encourages sprawl which leads to more cars which leads to more roads which leads to more cars.....

Getting cars off the roads and localizing travel is what we need to do.

[plat27265]

Originally Posted by adambomb

Bro. You can't disagree with my proposal without offering a viable alternative. c'mon man.

I live in Coquitlam as well and deal with the Pinetree/colony farms on a daily basis.

we need new road infrastructure immediately across metro Vancouver. Saying traffic is bad and my neighborhood wont handle increased volume is just plain nimbyism.

Like I said, if you think traffic in our hood is bad now. Wait until you really see the effects of a closed Pattullo.

I am not in opposition with you on a new bridge across the river. I totally support another bridge. However, forcing your idea of a N-S bridge that connects SFPR (HWY #17) and Schoolhouse won't be feasible. There was a proposal that was presented not too long ago about your idea of a bridge connecting SFPR and King Edward (not Schoolhouse). That didn't fly for some reason.

As for an alternate solution, I should have shared two ideas: (1) build a twin of the Pattullo and have 2 bridges side by side each accommodating one way traffic. While the new one is being built, old Pattullo is open for traffic. Or, (2) a bridge that connects SFPR (HWY #17) cor Bridgeview Road to an bridge that spans the Fraser River and crossing over United Blvd and terminating into HWY 1 between Braid and the Coquitlam exit.

Peace and cheers, bro!

[tiger_handheld]

why can't we just charge .50 for all bridges and 1.00 for port mann and golden ears.
like seriously. why the hell is this so hard to understand? The capital outlay to build the toll structure shouldn't be super duper since technology and expertise is already available with treo --- economies of scale!

[Everymans]

If i were playing sim city i'd just demolish all of lower new west minister from highway 1 to queensburough and build a proper highway along with a shorter height bridge then restrict large boats from going further up the river. Make it some cheap 50 million trestle bridge with a proper interchange on the other side with no lights or none of that crap. Build the entire highway into the side of the mountain to send all the noise to the river and away from the city then build a properly flowing quieter city above.

Might be a bit of a stretch but it might be possible to fill in the shores of the fraser and build a highway on that to avoid the entire city...

Since both those options are never going to happen, and it's doubtful a new bridge will do much to alleviate traffic since you have so many lights on the other side, I think the best option is to give everyone free parking at every skytrain and make it a single fare for a 90 minute ride anywhere in the city then toll every bridge 1$. Would cut out so many pointless trips across the bridge that only ad to the congestion and would promote transiting instead.

[foodtruck]

More roads invariably lead to the same amount of congestion over time.

100x this. The roads are congested for a variety of reasons and number of lanes sits very low on the list.

I cringe every time I recall driving once from Seattle during afternoon rush hour. There were lanes everywhere and yet everything was still crawling. More lanes means more frustrated lane changes and more pressure to be in the right lane for the right exits, which in turn means more accidents. We have at least one or two almost every day on major arteries when everyone is heading home, and then Port Mann or Hwy1 around Boundary get clogged up even though they both have plenty of lanes. People's inability to keep their distance and zip merge is probably part of the reason.

Separate from that, there are ways to make traffic more efficient with relatively low number of lanes. However, the next problem is that doing things such as eliminating left turns or introducing more traffic circles would confuse the hell out of the general driving public.

[Nlkko]

Yep leaving SEA to VAN during rush hours is a nightmare with no accident. If theres an accident, you might as well take an hour nap. God forbid if you didnt take the express lane out of downtown....

More roads or bridges is not the permanent solution for traffic congestion. Having less drivers behind the wheel is. I'm ok with making driving so much more expensive that most people need to adapt to public transport. I think that's where we're heading anyways.

[swiftshift]

Unfortunate for people whom commute west or east..
Now need a long detour or forced to pay TREO

[adambomb]

Public transportation is only useful if you have a point A to point B type job. home - office - home.

Is a plumber just supposed to load their tools and 20 ft long pieces of pipe on the sky train?

Sales and marketing. Don't worry just put your display cases and oversized samples in the disabled seating section of the train.

Did you just order a pizza? don't worry. the delivery guy is on the B-line. Should be there in hour and thirty minutes.

[thumper]

just another unhappy reminder to those of us who have to deal with the patullo... closures starts this april 29th in the evening:

Change habits now in anticipation of Pattullo congestion, says New Westminster mayor - British Columbia - CBC News

Major rehabilitation work on the Pattullo Bridge won't begin until the end of April but New Westminster's mayor is encouraging drivers to adjust their routes now.

TransLink says the bridge averages between 60,000 and 80,000 trips a day. Many drivers will be forced to take the tolled Port Mann, the Alex Fraser or commute by transit with closures expected to last for months.

"We are expecting there to be increased congestion and delays in the road network near the [span] and anyone who has the opportunity to find an alternative route or switch their travel periods to different times, we would be recommending that they do that," New Westminster Mayor Jonathan Cote said.

Cote does not believe the project will ultimately ease traffic congestion in his city.

"Even though it will be less traffic going through, there will be more queuing and waiting to get onto the bridge. We're unfortunately probably going to have just as much disruption, if not more with these lane closures," he said. "But we are hoping that traffic will start to adjust so we don't really face a negative situation."

He hopes the increased congestion doesn't start to filter over to residential neighbourhoods, keeping traffic on regional routes.

Closed from the evening of April 29 to the morning of May 2 to allow crews to set up for construction work.
Open one lane in each direction from May 2 to September 30.
Closed from the evening of September 30 to the morning of October 3 for crews to remove equipment.
Closed to all traffic two nights a week and one weekend a month until October 3.
The repairs are expected to cost $100 million and TransLink says the 78-year-old bridge, one of the oldest in the region, needs comprehensive deck rehabilitation and seismic upgrades to maintain its safety.

Up until now the bridge has been maintained with patch jobs through a series of summer closures, but TransLink says major repairs are now needed to keep the bridge safe.

Cost to businesses

Closures on a major commuter span will likely mean it takes more time to move goods around the region according to Surrey Board of Trade CEO Anita Huberman.

Although she supports the work being done, she says it's going to hurt the bottom line for many businesses.

"When they're caught in traffic, that is a cost. When they're caught in congestion that is a cost to business," she said.

She's also urging people and businesses to look now for different options to get around the region.

"That includes the Port Mann, which is a tolled option. The Alex Fraser I imagine will be completely congested because that's a free option."

[smoothie.]

Translink spending $100 million to repair the bridge.

In 2 years Translink will spend $XXX million tearing it down and building a new one.

[godwin]

or we can have an earthquake like kumamoto and knock it down right after we had finish refurbing it.. all done in 2 minutes!

Originally Posted by smoothie.

Translink spending $100 million to repair the bridge.

In 2 years Translink will spend $XXX million tearing it down and building a new one.

[melloman]

Patullo's main issues:

Bridge must be demolished and reconstructed in THE SAME SPOT.
You have the train bridge on the East and the Skytrain on the West, and if those weren't bad enough, you only have a small corridor of space on the New West side because of residential housing.

Now if you were to move the bridge, you only have 1 option: East. Go towards Braid, because downtown New West is West and there is no viable landing for a bridge anywhere there with the Quay.

Patullo is built where it is solely because the Fraser gets much thinner there, making the crossing a shorter span. As proposed, going to Schoolhouse would almost DOUBLE the span, and that's not a cheap bridge to make just afew km's down from a WAAAAAY overpriced Portmann.

GLHF, I don't see the Patullo being rebuilt until it collapses and there are casualties.

[DragonChi]

Is it single lane traffic in each direction the entire day, between April 29 and Sept?

[thumper]

Originally Posted by DragonChi

Is it single lane traffic in each direction the entire day, between April 29 and Sept?

from my post above:

Closed from the evening of April 29 to the morning of May 2 to allow crews to set up for construction work.
Open one lane in each direction from May 2 to September 30.
Closed from the evening of September 30 to the morning of October 3 for crews to remove equipment.
Closed to all traffic two nights a week and one weekend a month until October 3.

[Liquid_o2]

Originally Posted by smoothie.

Translink spending $100 million to repair the bridge.

In 2 years Translink will spend $XXX million tearing it down and building a new one.

Translink wanted to build a new bridge. The transportation plebiscite killed that opportunity. Now they gotta do what they gotta do.

[MarkyMark]

Ah the putullo, nothing wakes you up in the morning better than the ass clenching terror of a semi pulling up next to you on one side, and the strong presence of reinforced plastic separating you from a head on collision on the other side. All in a lane fit for a vehicle the size of a Tonka truck.

[thumper]

Originally Posted by MarkyMark

Ah the putullo, nothing wakes you up in the morning better than the ass clenching terror of a semi pulling up next to you on one side, and the strong presence of reinforced plastic separating you from a head on collision on the other side. All in a lane fit for a vehicle the size of a Tonka truck.

what you said pretty much brackets my work day

[Traum]

Originally Posted by Liquid_o2

Translink wanted to build a new bridge. The transportation plebiscite killed that opportunity. Now they gotta do what they gotta do.

Especially when it comes to crucial public infrastructure, I just don't understand why the government (municipal, provincial, and federal) cannot go into debt to come up with the necessary funds to fund the project. The plebiscite wasn't only just a loud and clear protest from the citizens that Metro Vancouver do not want a new transit tax, it was also every bit as much of a protest against the completely incompetent body otherwise known as TransLink.

[thumper]

YouTube (Short URL)

[yray]

are those tolls in the last part?

[thumper]

Originally Posted by yray

are those tolls in the last part?

see #2:

Pattullo Bridge: 5 things you may not have known - British Columbia - CBC News

[thumper]

wow. just wasting time here because my work meeting got canceled because those people who were supposed to be in attendance are stuck behind a dead semi blocking the bridge and this came up on my newsfeed:

All Pattullo Bridge lanes to open Aug. 29

All four lanes of the Pattullo Bridge will open to traffic on Aug. 29 after construction crews complete work on the deck of the Pattullo Bridge one month early. To prepare the bridge for four lanes of traffic, the Pattullo Bridge will be closed:

8 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 24 to 5 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 25.
8 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 25 to 5 a.m. Friday, Aug. 26.
8 p.m. Friday, Aug. 26 to 5 a.m. Monday, Aug. 29 (full weekend closure)
The closure planned from Sept. 30 to Oct. 3 is no longer needed.

For safety reasons, the bridge will return to the regular schedule of overnight lane closures that were in place before rehabilitation work began, with one lane open in each direction overnight.

Crews will continue working below the bridge deck through the fall but this work does not require immediate lane or bridge closures. Any future planned closures will be communicated to the public well in advance.

We recognize the impact the Pattullo Bridge construction work has had on commuters, local residents, and businesses. We thank everyone for their patience during the construction period.

Summary of work completed

Construction on the bridge began on April 29 and was expected to continue to Oct. 3. Despite wet weather in June, crews were able to get more done in a shorter period by scheduling additional weekend and overnight closures and reducing the number of concrete pours.

In total, crews repaired 1,180m2 of bridge deck, with 67 full-depth repairs.

Repairs included:

Milling off the asphalt surfacing from the deck.
Removing all deck concrete down to the top layer of rebar.
Repairing concrete delamination and cleaning or replacing rebar.
Repaving the deck area with a concrete overlay.
Work focused on essential deck repairs to address concrete delamination on sections of the 79-year-old bridge. Repairs are designed to extend the life of the bridge deck to keep the bridge operational while a replacement bridge is designed and built, which is expected to take up to seven years.

We will continue to regularly inspect the bridge and make necessary repairs in the future to maintain safety and functionality.

Media contact:

TransLink Media Relations
778.375.7788
media@translink.ca

For more information and trip planning resources visit translink.ca/pattullorehab

[meme405]

Incredible they managed to do something in a shorter than intended time period.

This company who did this work should be bookmarked and used again. Knowing translink though they probably wont...

[DragonChi]

Those patullo newsfeed post was quite well written and communicated a lot of good info. Whoever put that out did a good job!

IMO put up a new bridge and toll it. I'm so tired of waiting in traffic at this point. TBH they should just combine the rail bridge beside it too so that the rail company can pitch in for the infrastructure.