You can now walk and bike across the old, car-free Pattullo Bridge deck | Daily Hive

This long weekend, you can walk and bike across the old, car-free Pattullo Bridge deck, as new bridge fully opens to vehicles

Pedestrians walking across the car-free, old Pattullo Bridge deck on Feb. 14, 2026. (Government of BC)

Vehicle traffic began flowing across all four lanes of the new stal̕əw̓asəm Bridge (Riverview Bridge) for the first time at 7 a.m. this morning, marking a major milestone after more than a week of full closures and construction work at both ends of the crossing.

The bridge previously had a very soft, partial opening on Dec. 24, 2025, when a single lane was opened to technically meet the provincial government’s promise of a pre-Christmas debut. Today’s full traffic switch represents the most significant achievement so far in the $1.64-billion project to build a safer replacement for the aging Pattullo Bridge. Construction on the new crossing began in the spring of 2021.

The old Pattullo Bridge carried its last regular vehicle traffic more than a week ago, effectively bringing an end to its 88-year run as a key regional crossing across the Fraser River. With today’s switch, the historic bridge is now permanently closed to general vehicle traffic.

At the same time, the old bridge has been temporarily reopened to pedestrians and cyclists, who can walk and bike between New Westminster and Surrey until the morning of Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026.

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While pedestrian and cycling access has technically been in place since last week’s full closure, this Family Day long weekend offers the final chance to experience the Great Depression-era crossing in a rare and traffic-free setting.

Officially, only the sidewalks are open for people walking and cycling. However, with no regular vehicle traffic — aside from the occasional construction vehicle — many have been seen using the former roadway lanes as well, taking advantage of a once-in-a-lifetime spacious opportunity to cross the bridge on foot or by bike.

One of the many deficiencies with the old bridge was that its sidewalks were far too narrow and unsafe for pedestrians and cyclists.

The temporary opening also echoes previous calls from some New Westminster elected officials, who had hoped for one last send-off for the historic crossing. While it may not be the celebratory “party” event they envisioned, it does fulfill the spirit of those requests by giving people a final opportunity to walk and cycle across the bridge without vehicle traffic.

To get there, the north end of the Pattullo Bridge is roughly a 10-minute walk from SkyTrain’s Columbia Station, while the south end is also similarly about a 10-minute walk to Scott Road Station.

Time lapse video starting at sunrise on Valentine’s Day.

All 4 lanes of the new stal̕əw̓asəm/Riverview Bridge opened to traffic.

At the same time, a stream of pedestrians took to the old, car-free Pattullo Bridge. #vapoli #vanre 2/3https://t.co/pmY80yO1PN pic.twitter.com/Zfmc2syxv3

— Kenneth Chan (@iamkennethchan) February 14, 2026

A different time lapse perspective from the north end of the old Pattullo Bridge, with pedestrians taking advantage of the temporary car-free crossing before its demolition on this sunny long weekend day. #vanpoli #vanre 3/3https://t.co/pmY80yNu0f pic.twitter.com/qzim0uXh2p

— Kenneth Chan (@iamkennethchan) February 14, 2026

The closure of the old bridge on Feb. 17 will enable the start of major demolition activities, beginning from both ends of the structure over land. This is because the old structure is physically in the way of establishing the new bridge’s remaining connections to the road network.

These remaining links cannot be established until the first segments of the old bridge on either side of the river are demolished. Within a matter of weeks or less, the old crossing will be clearly severed.

The existing bridge is physically in the way of these new connections, including a new Columbia Street loop on-ramp in New Westminster onto the new bridge, the new bridge’s southbound off-ramp onto the westbound direction of Highway 17 (South Fraser Perimeter Road) in Surrey, and the new bridge’s wide pedestrian and cycling pathways. All of these remaining connections are expected to open later in 2026.

A segment of Columbia Bridge in the area will be fully closed for roughly more than a month to enable the deconstruction of the old bridge structure above the roadway.

The entire new bridge project will reach full completion later in 2026, while the entire old bridge will be fully demolished sometime later in 2027. The main tower’s height is 548 ft. above the river, making it the new tallest bridge in B.C.

Old Pattullo Bridge (left) and new stal̕əw̓asəm/Riverview Bridge (right), January 2026. (Government of BC)

A key criticism of the project is that it replaces the existing four-lane bridge with a four-lane bridge. But there are other traffic improvements, including a concrete divider separating both traffic directions to prevent the type of deadly head-on collisions experienced on the old bridge, and wider lanes to enable higher speed limits. As well, the off-ramp onto Highway 17 provides a net gain in connections that previously did not exist.

The old bridge saw average volumes of about 80,000 vehicles per day in recent decades.

When the Pattullo Bridge first opened in 1937, it served to transplant the vehicle traffic that used the 1904-built New Westminster Bridge swing bridge, which is located below the crossing. The swing bridge was subsequently converted into rail use only. The Pattullo Bridge was originally a tolled crossing, up until 1952.

The bridge was named after Duff Pattullo, who was Premier of B.C. during both the Great Depression and Second World War from 1933 to 1941.

pattullo bridge new westminster bridge 11

Old Pattullo Bridge and the construction of its replacement in the background, 2024. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

Old Pattullo Bridge. (Google Maps)

In 1998, when TransLink was formed and took over provincial Crown corporation BC Transit’s Metro Vancouver operations, it was granted with ownership of Pattullo Bridge, including the full operations and maintenance responsibilities.

The public transit authority began planning for a new replacement crossing about a decade later. But after years of delays with planning progress and financial pressures, the provincial government took over jurisdiction of the project in 2018 to enable TransLink to better focus on public transit.

The closure of the old bridge removes one expensive operational and maintenance cost from TransLink’s budget line. The new stal̕əw̓asəm Bridge is owned, operated, and maintained by the provincial government.

TransLink is also in the early stages of planning a new replacement Westham Island Bridge. It is also responsible for the Knight Street Bridge, and it built the Golden Ears Bridge in 2009.

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