Pattullo Bridge update – 3:30 p.m.
January 20, 2009
Pattullo Bridge update – 3:30 p.m.
January 20, 2009
STATUS OF BRIDGE
- Demolition of asphalt was completed around very early Tuesday morning and is currently being hauled away. Demolition of the timber structure is starting this afternoon and is expected to be complete by the end of day. Removal of that debris will continue through Wednesday
- We are mobilizing the bridge contractor for start of construction on Thursday morning.
- We are working hard to reduce the expected length of time that the bridge will be out of service.
ROAD ADJUSTMENTS
- Volume was heavy on the highways, peaking earlier and dropping off earlier. Traffic was moving, though there were significant delays, particularly on feeder routes.
- We note that people are still crossing over into the HOV lane. Police are out and enforcing the HOV rules.
- We continue to encourage carpooling, and there is capacity available. Check out Jack Bell Ride-Share for more info.
- We ask that all drivers continue to drive safely, top off your gas and thank you for following the rules of the road
- We continue to look at providing more options and additional capacity for people moving and transit priority.
TRANSIT ADJUSTMENTS
SKYTRAIN
- We estimate we had 22% extra capacity this morning. We ran 59 trains ran which is 200 of 210 cars—best we’ve put out
- Very light from 4:30 to 5:00am
- 7:00-8:00am saw 400 additional riders at King George.
- Scott Road was busier. We’ll get some counts. No change at Lougheed. Columbia busier on the Millennium line in both directions, like yesterday.
- Traffic thru Broadway Station busier but manageable
- As of 9:00am lots of capacity in both directions
- Definitely busier today.
- The temporary ban on bikes will continue. SkyTrain wants to send out a big “thank you” to our SkyTrain cyclists for their patience during the Pattullo Bridge closure. Just a reminder that until we can restore bike service, cyclists can still park their bikes, if they choose to, at many SkyTrain stations and bus loops. For more information on bike racks and bike lockers, please check out the TransLink web site for details. Thanks again cyclists for your help!
CMBC
- Still significant delays due to vehicular traffic on the 3 Surrey corridors
- People are trying to get to the Port Mann, Alex Fraser, and Queensborough bridges and the Massey Tunnel
- Rush started 30 minutes earlier this morning. We saw a modest increase in transit use however the main use is still vehicle
- Hwy 99 was not backed up as much as yesterday
- Mary Hill By-Pass flowed well
- Shuttles were not used on north side for commuting purposes but all shuttles on the Surrey side were used
- Scott Road traffic volume was a challenge this morning. Additional special buses were added
PARK & RIDE
- The City of Surrey is making approximately 200 curbside spots available along King George Highway, north of 100th Avenue. Another 80 spots along 110th Avenue at Scott Road Station are also open tomorrow.
- We have 40 spots available at a city parking lot at 10338 West Whalley Ring Road, near Surrey Central Station.
- These temporary Park & Ride spots are free during the rebuild of the new bridge section.
- We continue to investigate other locations for park & ride spots near the Surrey SkyTrain stations
Other
We encourage people to pre-buy their tickets when possible. You can buy tickets at the stations and FareDealer locations around the Lower Mainland.
And remember, you can also check out our Customer Alerts page or the Youtube info stream for more info.
Please remove the bicycle ban ASAP. It’s not going to help, most people are “silly” and will continue to drive even if it it’s an extra 1.5 hours or they have to get up at 4:30a.m. :-(
[…] the rest of us brace for a month or more of commuting hell while TransLink repairs the burnt-out Pattullo Bridge, a few local thinkers on transportation issues offer an alternative view. No one doubts the […]
This is the kind of critical incident that shows people that they can adjust and don’t need their cars every day.
All those extra folks using SkyTrain now should probably always be taking SkyTrain. The rest that need their cars are still driving and will have adjusted by the time the bridge re-opens.
Tear the bridge down, and leave it down.
Why isn’t the bridge deck being delt with @ the same time? I mean obviously the whole entire deck could be resurfaced in that time as well… Especially since no ones driving on it!!! But i guess waiting untill we get it up and inuse again we could shut it down right after, in the middle of summer, before the olympics to re-surface it, makes more sense!!! hahahahhahahah did I just say that?
wow…is this canada?
Hey Roland,
Thanks for your comment. I’ve passed it onto SkyTrain staff and they’ve told me that the bike restriction is something they are re-evaluating daily. It was a very tough decision for them to make–we are an integrated system and really do welcome cyclists as much as we can.
The key issue they’re actually focusing on is safety. Bikes could block exits in case of an emergency, and that was a scenario SkyTrain wanted to avoid with so many more people expected on the system throughout the day. The number of passengers has also been increasing with each day, so SkyTrain is still remaining conservative in its safety precautions. But again, they’re re-evaluating that situation daily and hope to get the bikes back on the trains as soon as possible.
Barry:
In fact, you are right, the bridge deck is going to get repaved and repaired at the same time. I’ve just put a new post up that references this.
Just an adjustment to the comment above. Barry, I’ve just been told that repaving of the bridge is actually just being considered during the two week construction, but is not guaranteed since priority is to reopen the bridge. Pothole repair will be done though.