A very important alert for all our customers who use the Pattullo Bridge.

Repaving work will start on Sun May 31, which means the bridge will be closed during weeknights (8 p.m. to 5 a.m.) and weekends (8 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Monday). Barring weather delays, the work is expected to take two to three weeks.

Please be aware that when the bridge is open during weekdays, some parts of the deck will be rougher than others. A 30 km/h speed limit will be in place at all times until the work is complete.

As well, the N19 Surrey Central/Downtown NightBus, the only one of two routes currently using the Pattullo Bridge, will be re-routed from New Westminster Station via the Port Mann Bridge, 152nd St., 108th Ave. and the King George Highway to Scott Road Station before resuming its regular route. (Final arrangements for the 321 route have not yet been figured out — I’ll keep you posted.)

If you ride this bus, please expect an extra 10 minutes’ travel time in each direction. SkyTrain will run regular evening and weekend service, with additional cars available to meet extra demand if needed.

It really sucks to close the bridge like this, but the repaving work is important and we need to get it done! Here’s some more detail on why the repaving is needed from the official press release:

Work will begin May 31 to repave the Pattullo Bridge. Over the past three years, TransLink has done extensive maintenance work on the 72-year-old structure, including repainting and foundation scour protection (to prevent the piers’ being eroded by the Fraser River), and now the deck will be repaved. Removing and replacing the asphalt will make the road surface smoother and will allow the condition of the underlying concrete bridge deck to be assessed.

“It’s vital to keep the Pattullo Bridge in as good condition as possible while we plan, design and build the new crossing over the next several years,” says TransLink CEO Tom Prendergast. “We did get an inadvertent ‘head start’ during the emergency closure in January, and now it’s time to finish the job.” Following the fire, which destroyed the timber support structure in January, approximately 20 per cent of the paving work was done while the new span was put in place.

The bridge was paved in the 1980s using asbestos-modified asphalt which must be removed carefully. To complete the work as safely and quickly as possible, the bridge will be closed to all traffic while the work is underway. The closures will take place weeknights (8pm – 5am) and weekends (8pm Friday – 5am Monday). Barring possible weather delays, the work is expected to take two to three weeks. Motorists, pedestrians and cyclists should plan alternate routes, such as Port Mann Bridge or Alex Fraser/Queensborough Bridges, for night time and weekend travel.

The work has been scheduled for the early part of June to make use of a “window” when traffic is generally reduced over the bridge. Most post-secondary institutions have finished classes, and the “summer driving season” has not yet begun. It’s also the time of year that is most likely to be dry and not very hot – two conditions necessary for this work. While approaches to the bridges will be closed, there will be access to businesses on the south side of the bridge.