Pitt River Bridge

The Pitt River Bridge is a swing bridge that spans the Pitt River between Port Coquitlam and Pitt Meadows, British Columbia. The bridge is part of Highway 7, carrying Lougheed Highway across the river. The original (southern) span was opened in 1957 by Premier W. A. C. Bennett. The second (northern) span was built in the 1970's.

The mid swing span of the south span had the distinction of sometimes not seating properly in the closed position becoming stuck and causing very long traffic line ups (especially before the north span was built), but this problem was fixed many years ago. The control house also operates the lane control system.

Each of the two spans has two lanes. During the morning and evening commute times, a counterflow lane is opened so that the traffic is three lanes in one direction, one lane in the other. A picture of this can be seen here

Pitt River Bridge and Mary Hill Interchange Project

The existing bridges will be replaced with a new cable-stayed bridge consisting of seven lanes, along with a new interchange to replace the nearby Mary-Hill Bypass-Lougheed intersection. Six lanes will be dedicated to general purpose traffic while the additional lane will allow slower moving trucks to access the Canadian Pacific rail yard in Pitt Meadows at Kennedy Road. The new bridge structure is being built between the two existing bridges, and significantly higher, so boats can pass underneath without the need for a swing bridge. The project which is currently under construction is scheduled to be complete in 2009 to coincide with the opening of the Golden Ears Bridge. After the bridge and roadway are complete, the old bridges and swing pier will be removed.[1]