Prime Minister Stephen Harper announces Pitt River Bridge will soon be open for traffic

August 04, 2021

PITT MEADOWS, BRITISH COLUMBIA – Construction of the Pitt River Bridge will soon be completed and the new bridge is scheduled to be open for traffic by the end of the year.  Today Prime Minister Stephen Harper and British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell marked a construction milestone for the new bridge by taking an inaugural walk across the recently-completed concrete bridge deck.

“Throughout its construction, the Pitt River Bridge project has provided excellent, well-paying construction jobs for local workers,” said the Prime Minister.  “Once completed, this bridge will improve the quality of life for families and workers in Pitt Meadows and Maple Ridge.  The project is a great example of the benefits we get from timely investments in infrastructure – good jobs today and a stronger economy for years to come.”

“In just a few months this new seven-lane bridge will be open to transit, cyclists, pedestrians and the more than 85,000 vehicles that cross each day,” said Premier Campbell.  “It will reduce congestion; improve the flow of people and goods through the region; and help people to spend more time with their loved ones, rather than stuck in traffic.”

Over the past thirty years the volume of traffic over Pitt River has nearly tripled and placed an unsustainable strain on existing bridge infrastructure.  The new bridge will accommodate this higher volume of traffic, and will also support the Pacific Gateway by allowing more products destined for markets across Canada and around the world pass through.

A cost-shared project between the federal and provincial governments, the Pitt River Bridge will replace the existing swing bridges on the Pitt River.  A free flowing interchange will replace the current Lougheed Highway and Mary Hill Bypass intersection.  The new bridge will have 3 lanes of westbound traffic and 4 lanes of eastbound traffic.  It will also provide up to 16 metres of vertical marine clearance and will include pedestrian and cycling features.