The 89-year-old Pattullo Bridge is popular with pedestrians and cyclists this weekend during the final days of public access to the Fraser River crossing.
The familiar orange bridge is now permanently closed to motorists, following Saturday’s opening of the new four-lane Stal̕əw̓asəm (“Riverview”) Bridge connecting Surrey and New Westminster.
Sunday’s clear weather drew crowds to the Pattullo, where the sidewalk will remain open to cyclists and pedestrians until Tuesday morning (Feb. 17), according to TransLink.
Around noon Sunday, a security worker on the Surrey side of the bridge kept track of numbers and held people back behind yellow caution tape as people walked on the pavement.
Bridge-crossers snapped photos as they got a closer look at the rusted Pattullo, which crews will begin removing in coming weeks, a deconstruction job expected to last two years.
Beautiful day for a final walk on old Pattullo Bridge, deconstructed soon.
The bridge is open to pedestrians and cyclists until Tuesday morning, according to @TransLink.
MY STORY & PHOTOS: https://t.co/fV0DWhzmAp @SurreyNowLeader pic.twitter.com/mvr9RAuWHw
— Tom Zillich (@TomZillich) February 15, 2026
The bridge, opened in 1937, was named after Thomas Dufferin “Duff” Pattullo, B.C. Premier from 1933 to 1941.
For a week starting Feb. 6, both bridges were closed to motorists while workers completed connections to roadways on both sides.
On Dec. 24, one of four lanes opened on the stal̕əw̓asəm, keeping a B.C. government promise to have vehicles use the Pattullo Bridge replacement by Christmas.
The $1.6-billion project was hit with construction delays and questions about the size of the new bridge (some want six lanes, not four) and new name (which isn’t popular with everyone).
The stal̕əw̓asəm name for the new bridge was announced Dec. 8 in recognition of “First Nations’ deep historical and current connections to the area,” according to B.C.’s Ministry of Transportation and Transit. The name, pronounced STALL-oh-AW-sum, translates to “place to view the river” in the Indigenous halkomelem (hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓) language.