Pitt River Bridge pylons going up

Work is under way on the new Pitt River Bridge linking Coquitlam and Pitt Meadows in the suburbs northeast of Vancouver. The $198-million bridge and associated Mary Hill interchange are part of the North Fraser Perimeter Road project, which in turn is part of the massive Gateway Program that is expanding the highway network in the Vancouver area.

A new cable stayed bridge carrying seven lanes of traffic is being inserted between the existing Pitt River bridges. The latter are due to be dismantled eventually in June 2010. The bridge provides a 16-metre clearance for marine traffic, and is designed to accommodate light rapid transit.

Peter Kiewit is the contractor in charge, and MMM Group, Associated Engineering and International Bridge Technologies are part of the engineering team. Construction began last summer, and involved driving piles 100 metres into the ground to support the bridge towers The piles are among the biggest and deepest ever to be driven in B. C. By February, three above-ground pylons, 60 metres high, to support the tower on the Pitt Meadows foreshore were also being constructed.

The Pitt River bridge will not be a toll road, unlike the 1-kilometre long Golden Ears Bridge that is also being built in Vancouver’s northeast sector. It will cross the Fraser River to connect Maple Ridge with Langley and Surrey to the south.