- Pattullo Bridge
The Pattullo Bridge is a
compression arch suspended-deck bridge located in theGreater Vancouver Regional District ofBritish Columbia ,Canada . Constructed in 1936-37, it spans theFraser River and links the city of New Westminster on the north bank of the river to the city of Surrey on the south bank. The Bridge's base is constructed of wood. The bridge forms part of Highways 1A and 99A.The Pattullo Bridge, which is m to ft|1221 in total length, consists of four lanes (two in each direction) with no barrier of any sort in the centre, making it highly prone to head-on collisions, especially at excessive speed or bad weather. The province and TransLink have since 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 fatal head-on collisions that occur, and installed a series of plastic pillars to raise visibility of the centre lane divider. On
January 2 ,2006 , four people were killed in aT-bone collision between two cars on the southern approach lane.In response to the high number of crashes that take place on the bridge, TransLink is studying the idea of reducing the number of lanes on the bridge from four to three utilizing a counterflow operation. This arrangement is similar to what is being used on the
Lions Gate Bridge with the number of lanes being varied depending on traffic flow and volume. A second key and more controversial proposal, is to installphoto radar on the bridge to enforce the existingspeed limit . Thus far, the provincial government have ruled out the idea of photo radar being brought back. [ CBC News. [http://www.cbc.ca/bc/story/bc_pattullo-radar20060524.html Pattullo Radar] ]On July 31, 2008 TransLink decided to replace the Pattullo Bridge rather than try to repair the aging, narrow-laned structure, and told staff to start planning for it as a toll bridge. [ Canada.com [http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=1951ff04-62ac-49c7-b67a-a2fad54c2b09] ]
Its appearance of dark orange colour and arch shape highly resembles the
Port Mann Bridge , located just a few kilometres upstream. The bridge was named forThomas Dufferin Pattullo , former premier ofBritish Columbia .ee also
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List of crossings of the Fraser River References
Crossings navbox|reverse=yes
structure = Crossings
place =Fraser River
bridge = Pattullo Bridge
bridge signs =
upstream =New Westminster Bridge
upstream signs =
downstream = Skybridge
downstream signs =
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