Pattullo Bridge send-off party gets provincial go-ahead

The B.C. government has given the go-ahead for a large party to mark the end of the Pattullo Bridge’s life when its replacement opens next year.

Earlier this year, New Westminster city council unanimously approved a motion that saw Mayor Patrick Johnstone send a letter to the province requesting approval to hold a send-off event for the structure.

The B.C. Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure confirmed to CityNews there are plans in the works to “acknowledge and celebrate the history of the bridge,” which it describes as a “landmark and part of the history of British Columbia.”

“I’m very excited,” New Westminster Coun. Daniel Fontaine told CityNews of the provincial approval.

“We’re going to be celebrating the old and welcoming the new.”

Read More: New Westminster to plan a Pattullo Bridge party

The 84-year-old Pattullo Bridge connecting New Westminster and Surrey is being replaced by a new, $1.4 billion bridge set to open in 2024. The new piece of infrastructure will have wider lanes, protected cycling and walking lanes, and improved connections to the bridge from its connecting cities, according to the B.C. government.

Fontaine says he thinks the decades-old piece of infrastructure should be properly celebrated for its role in the region before it’s torn down.

“It’s had such a huge impact in terms of our local economy. It’s such a huge part of our city. That bridge is the backdrop for many images that you see. It’s on murals within the downtown core,” Fontaine explained.

New Westminster Coun. Daniel Fontaine. (Courtesy: New West Progressives)

“This community all around Metro Vancouver has some kind of connection to that bridge in some way and I think to just simply open up the new bridge, decommission the old one, we would lose a huge opportunity for an amazing festival and celebration and an opportunity to get together and to recognize the good, the bad, and the ugly that the Pattullo Bridge had in our community over the years.”

Fontaine says specific details of the event aren’t clear yet, but he’s heard some ideas batted around.

“Everything from fireworks display — something similar to what you’d see perhaps in Sydney or other major cities when the bridges are lit up. I’ve heard suggestions for things like a drone display,” he said.

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The councillor says he’d also like to see New Westminster businesses get involved in the event.

“I’ve heard from a lot of businesses on Columbia Street who would love to have Columbia Street be the kind of staging ground for people who get off at New West or Columbia Station to come down, visit some of the merchants, do some kind of street fest, then make their way up to the decommissioned Pattullo Bridge,” he said, adding food trucks, live music, and other festivities may pop up on the bridge itself come event time.

The planning committee for the Pattullo party will consist of stakeholders from New Westminster, Surrey, TransLink, and the B.C. Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure.