BC bridge closure costing truckers millions

SURREY, B.C. — Some truckers are being delayed over 10 hours a leg due to the forced closure of the Pattullo Bridge in Vancouver’s Lower Mainland, says the B.C. Trucking Association.

Even though only about five percent of truckers use the bridge, the BCTA told The Province that Metro Vancouver’s trucking industry is getting whacked between $4 million and $10 million a day due to delays caused by the spillover of traffic onto other routes — and that’s just in additional pay to drivers and fuel consumption. There’s untold millions being lost to missed delivery and pick-up appointments as well.

Traffic is at a virtual standstill on nearby feeder routes en route to the freeway, Alex Fraser Bridge, and into the Massey Tunnel.

The 70-year-old Pattullo Bridge, which links Surrey and New Westminster, has been shut down since Sunday, when a fire destroyed an 18-metre section of the span. Officials don’t expect the bridge to reopen for weeks.

The newspaper reports that repair work to the bridge could begin tomorrow.

Provincial officials were already planning to rebuild the bridge with a brand new toll structure.

TransLink rejected calls from some interest groups that wanted to reduce the number of lanes and ban trucks from the bridge.