It's official: One lane of new Pattullo Bridge now open to traffic | Daily Hive

It's official: One lane of new Pattullo Bridge now open to vehicle traffic

Opening of one vehicle lane of the new Riverview Bridge (Pattullo replacement) during the early morning hours of Dec. 24, 2025. (Stephen Braverman)

After nearly five years of major construction work and almost two decades since TransLink first initiated planning, the new replacement Pattullo Bridge is now officially open as of this morning, Christmas Eve — partially.

The provincial government and its contractor have technically fulfilled their reiterated “by Christmas” promise over much of the past year of opening the bridge to vehicle traffic — achieved by opening one of the two northbound/westbound lanes from Surrey to New Westminster. This directs drivers onto the new off-ramp to East Columbia Street.

You might also like:

The limited, soft opening occurred at 5 a.m. today.

Until early 2025, all four vehicle lanes of the old, 1937-built Pattullo Bridge will remain open, when a full traffic switch to the new bridge is completed.

Traffic camera footage showing vehicle traffic on the new Riverview Bridge (right) and the old Pattullo Bridge (left) on the morning of Dec. 24, 2025. (Government of BC)

Opening of one vehicle lane of the new Riverview Bridge (Pattullo replacement) during the early morning hours of Dec. 24, 2025. (Stephen Braverman)

It has been a photo finish to meet today’s technical opening deadline; just two months ago, in October 2025, crews reached the construction milestone of installing all 80 cables and the remaining steel girders of the bridge deck.

Although the new cable-stayed bridge over the Fraser River has reached a high degree of completion — enabling some vehicle traffic to flow starting today — significant phased construction work remains to complete the remaining three lanes of the bridge deck and all of the connections to existing, improved, and new roads on both sides of the river.

Later in January 2026, there will be a one-week complete closure of both the new and old bridges to allow additional work required for the full traffic switch to the new four-lane crossing, which is anticipated in February 2026. At that point, the old bridge will fully close to begin its decommissioning and demolition process. Exact timings, which are weather-dependent, will be announced closer to the work in the new year.

Drove the new singular northbound lane on the stal̕əw̓asəm (Riverview) Bridge around 7 this morning, just a few hours after opening.#BritishColumbia #Vancouver #NewWest #Surrey #PattulloBridge #RiverviewBridge #BC99A @CityNewsVAN @pattulloproject @DriveBC pic.twitter.com/0mn0JBlZeE

— Aaron (@herosonn_) December 24, 2025

Opening of one vehicle lane of the new Riverview Bridge (Pattullo replacement) during the early morning hours of Dec. 24, 2025. (Stephen Braverman)

Additional road connections — the new Royal Avenue on-ramp, Columbia Street loop-ramp, and Highway 17 off-ramp — as well as the pedestrian and cycling pathways, will not open until later in 2026. These components cannot be completed until segments of the old bridge above the shorelines on both sides of the river are demolished. Currently, the old bridge physically obstructs construction of these final connections.

Earlier in December 2025, the provincial government announced the new crossing is officially named stal̕əw̓asəm Bridge. Its English name is Riverview Bridge.

The name was chosen by the Musqueam Indian Band and Kwantlen First Nation and uses their hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ language. The name of the old crossing is being retired; it honoured Thomas Dufferin Pattullo, the Premier of British Columbia during the Great Depression and the Second World War.

On an average day, the 88-year-old bridge carries about 70,000 vehicles across its four narrow lanes, which are perched on a rapidly deteriorating structure — deemed at high risk of catastrophic failure in the event of a modestly powerful earthquake, high winds, or a ship strike of its piers.

Although the new bridge also features four lanes — two in each direction — the lanes are wider to enable faster and safer vehicle movement. Unlike the old bridge, the two traffic directions are separated by a concrete safety barrier, greatly reducing the risk of the types of deadly accidents seen on the old bridge.

pattullo bridge construction november 2025

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

The new bridge is designed and built by Fraser Crossing Partners, a joint venture between Aecon Constructors and Acciona Infrastructure, which is also currently building SkyTrain’s Millennium Line Broadway Extension.

When major construction on the new crossing 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 limited seasonal windows for in-river work on the bridge piers to minimize ecological disruption. Due to these delays and a variety of issues, the project’s cost has increased from $1.38 billion to $1.64 billion.

The new bridge is owned and operated by the provincial government, rather than TransLink — freeing up TransLink’s resources that were previously dedicated to maintaining and operating the old bridge.

The process to remove the old bridge’s structure above water will end in mid-2027. The removal of the old bridge’s underwater structures — the foundations that sit on the river bed — will begin in Fall 2026 and end sometime later in 2027, which will mark the full completion of the entire project.

You might also like: