After an original 1950s-built segment of the Granville Street Bridge was completely demolished earlier this year, a new replacement segment has reached completion and opened to vehicle traffic as of today.
This new segment of the bridge replaces the previous looping ramps that directly linked the Granville Street Bridge vehicle lanes with the Pacific Street vehicle lanes below.
The loops were demolished to make way for a new street grid at the bridge’s end in downtown Vancouver. The grid will replace the previous connections to Pacific Street and create new city blocks to enable high-density residential development opportunities, as previously approved by Vancouver City Council in July 2022.
March 2024 demolition:
Demolition process of Granville Bridge’s main span between Pacific and Drake streets, as of March 24, 2024. (Tricia Barker)
Early September 2024 reconstruction progress:
Construction progress on Granville Street Bridge, as of September 3, 2024. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)
Construction progress on Granville Street Bridge, as of September 3, 2024. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)
With the reopening, there are now some traffic pattern changes.
Only TransLink buses, taxis, cyclists, and local traffic will be able to travel northbound through the intersection of Granville Street and Drake Street — all other vehicles will need to turn onto Drake Street. This is intended to improve bus reliability and speed.
Granville Street Bridge is an extension of the Highway 99 corridor, a vital link for the regional transportation network. It normally sees an average of 65,000 vehicle crossings and 25,000 bus transit trips per day, with six bus routes running a combined total of nearly 80 buses per hour during peak periods.
All vehicles travelling northbound on the bridge to enter downtown Vancouver can continue to use the Seymour Street off-ramp. At the same time, southbound traffic can still go through the intersection of Granville Street and Drake Street to reach the bridge.
Construction progress on Granville Street Bridge, as of September 3, 2024. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)
Construction progress on Granville Street Bridge, as of September 3, 2024. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)
Construction progress on Granville Street Bridge, as of September 3, 2024. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)
To accommodate the Granville Connector pedestrian and cycling pathways on the west side of the bridge deck, the number of vehicle lanes will generally be reduced from eight lanes (four lanes in each direction) to six lanes (three narrower lanes in each direction). The concrete safety barrier that previously separated vehicle traffic directions will be removed to make way for a concrete safety barrier protecting the pedestrian and cycling pathways.
According to the City’s new construction update, the bridge deck’s pathways will not reach completion until early 2025, instead of the previous timing by Fall 2024.
But with the completion of the reconstructed bridge deck, construction on the pathways will now pick up, including an overnight closure of the bridge’s Howe Street on-ramp from 9 pm to 7 am for about eight weeks to accommodate line removal/painting and other activities. As well, the bridge’s west pedestrian sidewalk will be closed to enable safe construction over the coming months, with pedestrian access across the bridge retained on the east sidewalk.
The entire project of demolishing the loops and northern end of the bridge deck, building a new replacement bridge deck and street grid, and building new pedestrian and cycling pathways along the length of the bridge carries a total construction cost of $50 million, with work first beginning in February 2023. This also includes the cost of providing a direct connection to the Arbutus Greenway for the pathways at the south end of the bridge.
Construction progress on Granville Street Bridge, as of September 3, 2024. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)