All 80 cables, final steel girders now installed for new Pattullo Bridge | Daily Hive

All 80 cables and final steel girders now installed for new Pattullo Bridge

October 2025 construction progress on the new Pattullo Bridge. (Government of BC)

If all goes according to plan, some vehicle traffic will begin flowing across the new replacement four-lane Pattullo Bridge in just under two months.

Earlier this month, the project reached a major milestone with the installation of all 80 stay cables that support the bridge deck over the Fraser River. These cables hold up the final sections of the bridge deck’s superstructure.

In response to an inquiry last week, the B.C. Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure told Daily Hive Urbanized that crews are now completing the final reinforcing steel and concrete work on the bridge’s north approach.

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Recent photos and a new flyover video recorded by the Ministry in October 2025 show that the main bridge deck span — suspended over the river by the stay cables — currently sits a few feet lower than the rigid girder span of the north approach.

Over the coming weeks, once the remaining reinforcing steel girder and concrete work is complete, crews will begin levelling and aligning the girders on both sides by adjusting the stay cables and strategically adding weight where needed.

pattullo bridge construction october 2025

October 2025 construction progress on the new Pattullo Bridge. (Government of BC)

Construction this month also advanced to the installation of steel girders forming the off-ramp connection from the bridge’s northbound lanes to Columbia Street’s eastbound direction on the New Westminster side.

On the Surrey side, work on the bridge deck’s south approach has progressed to the road surface asphalt paving stage, with crews now laying asphalt over a waterproofing layer atop the concrete deck.

Over the coming weeks, work is expected to advance on connecting the bridge’s north and south main approaches to the existing road networks in New Westminster and Surrey. However, construction will clearly continue into 2027, particularly for portions of the final ramp and roadway connections on both sides, as well as the pedestrian and cycling pathways.

October 2025 construction progress on the new Pattullo Bridge. (Government of BC)

pattullo bridge construction september 2025

September 2025 construction progress on the new Pattullo Bridge. (Government of BC)

October 2025 construction progress on the new Pattullo Bridge. (Government of BC)

Some of these final works cannot proceed until the old four-lane bridge is demolished, as it physically occupies the space needed for the new infrastructure. As a result, the new bridge will open to vehicle traffic in phases, with the full traffic flow switch not expected until early 2026. As well, initial demolition of certain sections of the old bridge will allow completion of the remaining components of the new bridge in 2026, although the full demolition and removal process of the 1937-built structure is expected to take about two years.

The Ministry reaffirmed that the new bridge is still on track to open to vehicle traffic by Christmas 2025.

When major construction began in Spring 2021, the targeted opening date was late 2023. This was later revised to 2024, following delays caused in part by early pandemic impacts and the limited seasonal windows available for in-river work on the bridge piers to minimize ecological disruption.

In late 2024, the provincial government announced that the project’s total cost had increased by 19 per cent or $260 million — from $1.377 billion to $1.637 billion.

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