Months-long Granville Bridge detours begin for major construction work

Construction progress on the Granville Bridge Connector with the installation of the new permanent concrete barriers protecting the pedestrian and cyclist pathways, as of November 11, 2023. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

Expect significant delays over the coming months when using the Granville Street Bridge.

The delays will be the result of the next major construction stage of the Granville Connector project of building pedestrian and cyclist pathways on the bridge, and the new grade-level street network.

Starting on March 2, 2024, the bridge segment of Granville Street between Drake Street and the Howe Street/Seymour Street ramps will be closed, as this 1954-built main bridge segment north of Pacific Street will be fully demolished.

This segment will be replaced by a brand new bridge segment that will connect to the new grade-level street network on the north end of the bridge, replacing the recently demolished north loops that link the bridge deck’s vehicle lanes with Pacific Street below.

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To accommodate this construction work, all vehicle traffic, including TransLink buses that typically use the bridge, will be detoured to the Howe Street and Seymour Street ramps. Buses into downtown will be detoured along the Seymour off-ramp and return to Granville Street via Davie Street, while buses leaving downtown will be detoured from Granville Street along Davie Street and Howe Street onto the Howe Street on-ramp.

During construction, two lanes of vehicle traffic will be available on both the Howe Street and Seymour Street ramps, and sidewalks on both sides of the bridge — including the ramps — will remain open as much as possible.

This closure and detour will last until Fall 2024, when the new bridge segment of Granville Street and the Granville Connector’s pathways reach completion and open to traffic.

granville street bridge construction detour

Closure and detour map for Granville Street Bridge in downtown Vancouver, March to Fall 2024. (City of Vancouver)

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The Granville Connector’s pedestrian and cyclist pathways are being built on the west side of the bridge, replacing two vehicle lanes.

These new pathways, protected from vehicle traffic by a concrete barrier, will also be accomplished by narrowing the remaining six vehicle lanes for vehicles (three vehicle lanes in each direction instead of four), and there will no longer be a concrete barrier separating the two vehicle directions.

As part of the Granville Connector, on-bridge traffic signals will be installed where the pathways meet the Howe Street and Seymour Street ramps to provide pedestrians and cyclists a safe crossing across the bridge’s vehicle lanes. At the south end of the bridge, these pathways will directly connect with the Arbutus Greenway.

Existing configuration of the Granville Bridge (top) and the Granville Connector’s configuration changes for Granville Bridge to accommodate pedestrian and cyclist pathways (bottom). (City of Vancouver)

Scope of work for the first phase of the Granville Connector’s pedestrian and cyclist pathways, including the new on-bridge traffic signals. (City of Vancouver)

granville connector pedestrian cyclist route

Artistic rendering of the complete final design of the Granville Connector’s pedestrian and cyclist pathways on the Granville Bridge. (City of Vancouver)

January 2020 concept of the final proposed design for the Granville Connector. (City of Vancouver)

As for the north end of the bridge, the new grade-level street network will enable the creation of development parcels on City-owned land. In July 2022, the previous makeup of Vancouver City Council approved City staff’s rezoning application to permit six buildings up to 40 storeys containing 930,000 sq ft of total building floor area — primarily space for over 1,000 homes.

The residential uses within this mixed-use development will be mostly market condominiums due in large part to help cover the over $28 million cost of bridge demolition and the construction of the new street network, but it remains to be seen how exactly the 1.9-acre project will be executed.

625-777 pacific street 1390 granville street granville loops vancouver

Concept for 625-777 Pacific Street and 1390 Granville Street, replacing the north loops of the Granville Bridge in downtown. (City of Vancouver)

The current construction project for the Granville Connector will cost $19 million, with $11.5 million coming from the municipal government and $7.5 million from TransLink. This is intended to be the interim phase of the Granville Connector, as a future phase will introduce permanent design features and other improvements on the east side of the bridge.

Construction on the Granville Connector and demolition of the north bridge loops first began in early 2023.

Granville Street Bridge is an extension of the regional Highway 99 corridor route between Richmond and the North Shore. It normally sees an average of 65,000 vehicle crossings and 25,000 bus transit trips per day, with six bus routes running a combined total of nearly 80 buses per hour during peak periods. But compared to the other False Creek bridges, it sees far fewer pedestrian and cyclist volumes due to the lack of active transportation space.

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