New Westminster Bridge

File:Fraser River Bridge, New Westminster, BC.jpg

Construction of the New Westminster Bridge began in August 1902, and the new bridge was formally opened on July 23, 1904 by the Lieutenant governor of British Columbia.{{Cite web |title=Fraser River Bridge, New Westminster, British Columbia |url=https://www.hardestyhanover.com/projects/fraser-river-bridge-new-westminster-british-columbia/ |website=Hardesty & Hanover |date=June 2020 |access-date=January 21, 2025}} It was originally built with two decks; the lower deck was used for rail traffic while the upper deck was used for automobile traffic.{{Cite book |title= Trucking in British Columbia: An Illustrated History |author= Francis, Daniel|date=September 1, 2012|publisher=Harbour Publishing|isbn= 978-1550175615}} The rail part of the bridge initially connected Great Northern Railway (predecessor of BNSF) tracks south of the river to Canadian Pacific Railway (predecessor of CPKC) tracks north of the river.{{cite magazine |magazine=The Railroad Gazette |issn=0097-6679 |title=A new bridge over the Fraser River at New Westminster, British Columbia |url=https://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015013053833?urlappend=%3Bseq=728%3Bownerid=96709004-727 |publication-date=August 29, 1902 |page=666 |volume=34 |number=35 |hdl=2027/mdp.39015013053833 |access-date=February 21, 2025}}

Before the New Westminster Bridge was built, crossing the river required boarding the K de K or Surrey ferry, which docked at the present day neighbourhood of South Westminster (formerly the historic community of Brownsville) located in the city of Surrey.{{cite news |work=Surrey Now |title='A lot of history here.' FedEx's massive truck hub is being built on Surrey land that has a long and storied history |url=https://issuu.com/pmcommunity/docs/srythu20120719/3 |page=A03 |publication-date=July 19, 2012 |department=News |first=Tom |last=Zytaruk |access-date=February 1, 2025}}

The toll for the upper bridge was 25 cents{{Citation needed|date=November 2017}} and created quite an uproar for farmers who found out quickly that by taking their livestock across on foot would cost them a quarter a head but if they put them in a truck it cost a quarter for the whole load.

After March 1910, passenger and vehicle tolls were no longer charged.{{cite news |id={{ARK|ark:/13960/t5t75dm5c}} |work=Victoria Daily Colonist |issn=0839-4261 |title=Rail bridge to be given: Structure on which province has spent $2,500,000 will be deeded over |url=https://archive.org/details/dailycolonist0136uvic_20/page/n1 |publication-date=January 25, 1936 |page=2 |volume= |number=38}}

By the 1930s, the bridge was judged inadequate to handle the increased demand in road traffic over the Fraser River. In January 1936, the Canadian Department of Public Works, which was responsible for the marine navigation safety of the country's navigable waters, determined that a dedicated new road crossing could be built under certain conditions. The new crossing would have to be located as close as possible downstream of the current bridge, and British Columbia province would have to either replace the swing span of the current bridge with a vertical-lift span that allowed {{convert|250|ft|order=flip}} of horizontal clearance and {{convert|145|ft|order=flip}} of vertical clearance above the freshet level, or remove the existing upper-deck road portion of the bridge and transfer bridge ownership to the Public Works department. The latter alternative was recommended to reduce the number of involved parties, because the federal government already handled marine navigation safety and controlled (before privatisation) CNR, which had become the primary user of the rail portion of the bridge. British Columbia Premier Duff Pattullo quickly declared that the province would take the latter option. The Pattullo Bridge road crossing subsequently opened in November 1937. The upper deck of the New Westminster Bridge was removed, the bridge was converted exclusively for rail use, and in October 1939, ownership of the bridge was given to the federal government.{{harvnb|Bernier|1968|pp=[https://epe.lac-bac.gc.ca/100/200/301/pco-bcp/commissions-ef/bernier1968-71-eng/bernier1968-vol2-eng/bernier1968-vol2-part3-eng.pdf#page=37 278]–279, [https://epe.lac-bac.gc.ca/100/200/301/pco-bcp/commissions-ef/bernier1968-71-eng/bernier1968-vol2-eng/bernier1968-vol2-part3-eng.pdf#page=62 303]}}{{cite news |id={{ARK|ark:/13960/t0zp71s6n}} |work=Victoria Daily Colonist |issn=0839-4261 |title=Federal government approves plans for bridge over Fraser: Approval conditional to lift span being installed in present structure or removal of traffic deck by province |url=https://archive.org/details/dailycolonist0136uvic_19/page/n0 |publication-date=January 24, 1936 |pages=1, [https://archive.org/details/dailycolonist0136uvic_19/page/n7 8] |volume= |number=37}}

Although CNR typically accounted for 85% or more of annual traffic,{{cite news |work=Regina Leader-Post |issn=0839-2870 |title=Pool engineer says moving terminals costly, impractical |url={{GBurl|nD9VAAAAIBAJ|pg=PA34}} |publication-date=May 10, 1976 |page=34 |first=Paul |last=Brettle}}{{cite court |litigants=Canadian National Railway Co. v. Norsk Pacific Steamship Co. |vol=[1992] 1 SCR 1021 |reporter= |opinion=21838 |pinpoint=The Relationship Between the Plaintiff and the Bridge Owner |court=Supreme Court of Canada |date=April 30, 1992 |url=https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/875/index.do |quote=Of the four railways CN was the principal user, accounting for 85 to 86 per cent of the railway cars using the bridge in 1987. On average it sent 32 trains with 1530 cars a day across the bridge.}} Burlington Northern Railroad (successor to Great Northern Railway, predecessor of BNSF) performed train dispatching for the bridge through at least the mid-1970s, making final decisions from its Seattle, Washington office.{{cite journal |journal=Canadian Rail |issn=0008-4875 |publisher=The Canadian Railroad Historical Association |publication-date=October 1977 |number=309 |title=The business car |page=[https://exporail.org/canrail/canadian_rail_1962_1989/canadian-rail-309-1977.pdf#page=30 318]}}{{cite report |work=Grain Handling and Transportation Commission |first=Emmett M. |last=Hall |author-link=Emmett Matthew Hall |year=1977 |volume=I |title=Grain and rail in western Canada: Report of the Grain Handling and Transportation Commission |url=https://epe.lac-bac.gc.ca/100/200/301/pco-bcp/commissions-ef/hall1977-eng/hall1977-eng.htm |chapter=§7: Ports and terminals |chapter-url=https://epe.lac-bac.gc.ca/100/200/301/pco-bcp/commissions-ef/hall1977-eng/hall1977-v1-part2-eng.pdf |pages=[https://epe.lac-bac.gc.ca/100/200/301/pco-bcp/commissions-ef/hall1977-eng/hall1977-v1-part2-eng.pdf#page=28 223]–224 |oclc=3415096 |isbn=9780660010144}}

In December 1991, CNR announced that it would be granted a deed of entrustment to the bridge from Public Works Canada, and that it would spend {{CAD|15,000,000|link=yes}} on bridge repairs.{{cite news |id={{ProQuest|267418417}} |work=The Province |issn=0839-3311 |title=CN Rail plans costly repairs to vital bridge it will control |publication-date=December 18, 1991 |page=B10 |first=Mark |last=Wilson}} This entrustment agreement specified that the Canadian federal government would transfer operational and maintenance control, but not ownership, of the bridge to CNR.{{cite news |work=Canadian Trucking Alliance |title=Study on New Westminster Rail Bridge (NWRB) Asia-Pacific gateway |url=https://cantruck.ca/study-on-new-westminster-rail-bridge-nwrb-asia-pacific-gateway/ |date=February 4, 2021 |access-date=February 16, 2025}} The $15 million bridge rehabilitation would add 25 years to the usable life of the crossing.{{cite conference |title=Fraser River railway bridge rehabilitation |last1=Gault |first1=G. |last2=Nowak |first2=G. |last3=Stenvold |first3=R. |last4=Skaberna |first4=S. |last5=Sweeney |first5=R. A. P. |pages=177–186 |conference=Annual conference of the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering |edition=1992 |date=May 27–29, 1992 |location=Quebec City, Quebec |oclc=61475070 |isbn=0921303327}}

In 2004, CNR and Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) began some coordinated operations in Greater Vancouver to address rail capacity issues caused by Canada's growing trade volumes with Asia.{{cite press release |work=Canadian National Railway |title=CN and CPR announce co-production agreements to improve service to the Port of Vancouver |url=http://www.cn.ca/about/media/news_releases/2004/4th_quarter/en_News20041019.shtml |date=October 19, 2004 |id={{ProQuest|445560357}} |archive-date=September 27, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060927001255/http://www.cn.ca:80/about/media/news_releases/2004/4th_quarter/en_News20041019.shtml}}{{cite news |work=Traffic World |issn=0041-073X |id={{Gale|A123854990}} |title=Giving it up for capacity: Canadian rivals become partners to address high demand for track space in Vancouver |publication-date=October 25, 2004 |volume=268 |number=43 |page=26}}{{cite report |title=False Creek Flats rail corridor strategy |url=https://council.vancouver.ca/20090217/documents/tt3.pdf |first=Jerry |last=Dobrovolny |date=February 6, 2009 |publisher=Vancouver City Council |access-date=March 11, 2025}} These new operations helped to reduce traffic pressures at the bridge.{{sfn|IBI Group|2004|at=[http://www.gvgc.ca/pdf/GVGC_LowerMainland_Rail_Infrastructure_Study.pdf#page=16 §1.3.2: NWRB replacement]}} In January 2006, CNR entered an agreement with BNSF to gain operational, dispatching, and maintenance control of BNSF track from the bridge northward and westward to central Vancouver and the South Shore of the Burrard Inlet in exchange for CNR assets in Illinois and Tennessee, such as similar control of interlockers in Chicago, Illinois and Memphis, Tennessee and other trackage rights. Because of this agreement, CNR gained contiguous control of its main line corridor from the North Shore of the Burrard Inlet, its Second Narrows Rail Bridge across Burrard Inlet, and Thornton Tunnel by connecting them through the BNSF track to the New Westminster Bridge and CNR's main line track south of the Fraser River.{{cite press release |work=Canadian National Railway |title=CN and BNSF Railway announce agreement to increase network fluidity and infrastructure capacity |url=http://www.cn.ca/about/media/news_releases/2006/1st_quarter/en_News20060119a.shtml |date=January 19, 2006 |id={{ProQuest|445295624}} |archive-date=September 27, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927194655/http://www.cn.ca:80/about/media/news_releases/2006/1st_quarter/en_News20060119a.shtml}}{{cite magazine |id={{ProQuest|206637455}} |magazine=Trains |issn=0041-0934 |title=CN, BNSF to share assets in Canada, Tennessee, and Illinois |publication-date=April 2006 |page=14 |volume=66 |number=4}} A week later, CNR used its greater control of the BNSF track to expand the scope of its coordinated rail operations with CPR throughout the Lower Mainland.{{cite press release |work=Canadian National Railway |title=CN and Canadian Pacific Railway to implement further service improvements at the Port of Vancouver |url=http://www.cn.ca/about/media/news_releases/2006/1st_quarter/en_News20060126.shtml |date=January 26, 2006 |id={{ProQuest|445292678}} |archive-date=June 7, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070607170900/http://www.cn.ca/about/media/news_releases/2006/1st_quarter/en_News20060126.shtml}}{{cite map |work=Canadian National Railway |title=CN-CPR Vancouver Routing & Switching Agreement |url=http://www.cn.ca/about/media/pdf/CNCPRMapFinal.pdf |date=January 26, 2006 |archive-date=August 27, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060827155819/http://www.cn.ca/about/media/pdf/CNCPRMapFinal.pdf}}{{cite magazine |magazine=The Western Producer |issn=0043-4094 |title=CN, CP co-operate on tracks |url=https://www.producer.com/news/cn-cp-cooperate-on-tracks/ |first=Adrian |last=Ewins |date=February 2, 2006 |access-date=January 14, 2025}} By 2014, the implementation of coordinated rail operations was considered a success in preserving available rail capacity at the bridge, at least on a short-term (20-year) basis.{{cite report |work=Richmond Chamber of Commerce |title=The economic importance of the lower Fraser River |pages=48–50 |section=§4.3.6: New Westminster rail bridge |section-url=https://www.boardoftrade.com/files/advocacy/2014-lower-fraser-river/fraser-river-report-2014.pdf#page=54 |publication-date=July 2014 |access-date=January 15, 2025}}

The bridge is a heavily used single-track railway that supports only low train speeds and is swung open for marine traffic for a significant portion of each day. Because of this situation, studies have been conducted to relocate the northern terminus of Amtrak's Cascades passenger train service from Pacific Central Station in downtown Vancouver southeast by {{convert|13|mi|order=flip}} to Surrey. The proposed new terminus at the Skytrain rapid transit system's Scott Road Station is about {{convert|3000|ft|order=flip|sigfig=1}} from the bridge. The location would allow additional round trips from Seattle, Washington to be added by avoiding the need to cross the Fraser River.{{cite news |issn=0700-9003 |work=Peace Arch News |title=Surrey eyes for Amtrak station |url=https://groups.io/g/Canadian-Passenger-Rail/topic/surrey_eyes_for_amtrak/16002014 |first=Jeff |last=Nagel |date=March 6, 2007 |accessdate=December 14, 2024}}{{cite report |title=Cascade Gateway rail study |publication-date=December 20, 2002 |author=Wilbur Smith Associates |publisher=International Mobility and Trade Corridor Project (IMTC) |chapter-url=https://theimtc.com/wp-content/uploads/documents/rail_finalreport.pdf#page=57 |section=§6: Scott Road station pre-feasibility analysis |oclc=53009932 |accessdate=December 14, 2024}}{{cite report |id={{ARK|ark:/13960/t9b68gq91}} |url=http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/NR/rdonlyres/AE671CC5-6633-4BF2-9041-FB328ADB1F31/0/LongRangePlanforAmtrakCascades.pdf |publisher=Washington State Department of Transportation |title=Washington State Long-Range Plan for Amtrak Cascades |publication-date=February 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090808172247/http://wsdot.wa.gov/NR/rdonlyres/AE671CC5-6633-4BF2-9041-FB328ADB1F31/0/LongRangePlanforAmtrakCascades.pdf |archive-date=August 8, 2009 |section=§E: Amtrak Cascades northern terminus options |accessdate=December 14, 2024}}{{cite report |title=Washington state Amtrak Cascades operating costs technical report |volume=4 |publisher=Washington State Department of Transportation |publication-date=February 2006 |section=§A: Greater Vancouver, BC terminal options |url=https://apiproxy.utc.wa.gov/cases/GetDocument?docID=245&year=2007&docketNumber=070696 |access-date=December 14, 2024}}

In the early 2020s, CNR completed seismic upgrades to the bridge.{{cite magazine |issn=1912-5917 |magazine=Piling Canada |title=The New Westminster Railway Bridge seismic upgrade project |url=https://www.pilingcanada.ca/the-new-westminster-railway-bridge-seismic-upgrade-project/ |publication-date=June 2023 |first=Paul |last=Adair |access-date=December 9, 2024}}

The bridge crosses the Fraser River at about {{convert|15|mi|order=flip}} upstream of the location where the river empties into the Strait of Georgia.{{cite journal |issn=0096-3690 |journal=Engineering News |series=The New Westminster bridge over the Fraser River, British Columbia |title=Substructure |url=https://hdl.handle.net/2027/coo.31924062323047?urlappend=%3Bseq=629%3Bownerid=13510798899974116-659 |publication-date=June 15, 1905 |pages=611–614 |volume=53 |number=24 |hdl=2027/coo.31924062323047 |access-date=February 6, 2025}} It is situated {{convert|200|ft|order=flip}} upstream of the original Pattullo Bridge road crossing, but will be about {{convert|50|m}} downstream of the new Pattullo Bridge,{{cite magazine |magazine=Rock to Road |issn=2293-7862 |title=Bridging the gap on the Fraser River |url=https://www.rocktoroad.com/bridging-the-gap-on-the-fraser-river/ |publication-date=July–August 2023 |pages=17–18, 20–21 |first=Grant |last=Cameron |volume=37 |number=4 |access-date=March 7, 2025}}{{cite news |url=https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/pattullo-bridge-construction-progress-april-2021 |access-date=October 18, 2021 |title=New Pattullo Bridge construction underway, but opening pushed to 2024 |website=The Daily Hive |date=April 1, 2021 |first=Kenneth |last=Chan}} which is scheduled to open in 2025 as the replacement for the 1937 road crossing.{{cite news |last=Burns |first=Anna |date=May 25, 2024 |title=Pattullo Bridge replacement delayed again, now projected to open in 2025 |newspaper=Peace Arch News |issn=0700-9003 |url=https://www.peacearchnews.com/local-news/pattullo-bridge-replacement-delayed-again-now-projected-to-open-in-2025-7364978 |access-date=May 29, 2024}}

The bridge was constructed with five fixed truss spans of {{convert|159|ft|order=flip}} in length near the south bank of the river (Surrey side). The width of these spans were {{convert|18|ft|order=flip}}. North of these shorter spans was the {{convert|380|ft|m|order=flip|0|adj=mid|swing truss span}}, and then a fixed truss span that was also {{convert|380|ft|m|order=flip|0}} in length. These two longer spans had a width of {{convert|19|ft|order=flip}}. The final truss span had a length of {{convert|225|ft|order=flip}}, but its width expanded from {{convert|19|ft|order=flip}} to {{convert|136|ft|order=flip}} as it neared the north bank of the river (New Westminster side). This unusual feature was designed to accommodate the splitting and turning of the bridge's rail track into eastbound and westbound tracks, which would merge with the existing CPR track along the New Westminster shoreline.

The bridge's lower-deck rail track was vertically aligned with the base of all eight truss spans. The upper-deck road was placed on top of the five shorter truss spans, and was aligned at mid-height on the three longer truss spans. The horizontal clearance was {{convert|16|ft|order=flip}} for both the rail and road decks.

{{as of|2004}}, the speed limit for trains was {{convert|11|mph|abbr=off}}, which had been increased from {{cvt|8|mph}}.{{sfn|IBI Group|2004|p=38}}

The bridge opens for marine traffic about 20 times each day. It takes about 7 minutes for the bridge to swing open or closed. When opened, the swing span provides {{convert|51.2|m}} of horizontal clearance at a river control depth of {{convert|9.9|m}} for the New Westminster side of the opening (which usually hosts ship traffic headed upstream), and it provides {{convert|48.8|m}} of horizontal clearance at a river control depth of {{convert|8.2|m}} for the Surrey side (which usually hosts ships headed downstream). The deepest part of the river actually flows under the {{convert|380|ft|m|order=flip|0|adj=mid|fixed span}}, where the water depth under ordinary conditions was {{convert|80|to|85|ft|order=flip}} at the time of construction.

There have been several other proposals to renovate or replace the current swing bridge with a vertical-lift bridge span, because a lift bridge opens and closes faster than a swing bridge, and a lift bridge does not cut the maximum width of the navigation channel in half.{{cite web |website=The Constructor |title=Advantages and disadvantages of different types of movable bridges |url=https://theconstructor.org/structures/movable-bridges-advantages-disadvantages/17946/ |access-date=March 22, 2025}} Lumber company Crown Zellerbach had requested a lift bridge conversion from 1936 into the late 1960s, because the tides, freshets, river channel currents, and limited horizontal clearance of the swing bridge prevented oceangoing ships from directly reaching its lumber exporting site upstream at Fraser Mills, British Columbia.{{cite news |work=Vancouver Sun |issn=0832-1299 |title=$3.75 million spent |url={{GBurl|2ZllAAAAIBAJ|pg=PA30}} |publication-date=March 20, 1967 |page=26 |first=Pat |last=Carney |volume=81 |number=146 |access-date=February 16, 2025}} In 1964, William George Swan, who designed the original Pattullo Bridge and the replacement Second Narrows road bridge, lobbied the federal government to build a wider, vertical-lift bridge in place of the current bridge.{{cite news |work=Vancouver Sun |issn=0832-1299 |title=Col. W. G. Swan ... busy octagenarian |url={{GBurl|IJhlAAAAIBAJ|pg=PA39}} |publication-date=October 1, 1964 |page=39 |first=Bill |last=Fletcher |access-date=February 16, 2025}}

In 1965, after CNR announced plans to replace the Second Narrows Bridge, there was speculation that the original bridge's lift span, which had a {{convert|271|ft|order=flip|adj=on}} horizontal clearance, would be used to replace the swing span on the New Westminster Bridge. This transfer would help retain the estimated 75–100 commercial ships that the Fraser River Harbour Commission was losing to Vancouver because of insufficient navigation width through the swing span.{{cite news |work=Vancouver Sun |issn=0832-1299 |title=Never better off, Nicholson asserts |url={{GBurl|jJllAAAAIBAJ|pg=PA10}} |publication-date=September 23, 1965 |page=10 |volume=79 |number=300 |access-date=March 21, 2025}}{{cite news |work=Vancouver Sun |issn=0832-1299 |title=$27 million CNR project to aid North Shore growth |url={{GBurl|N5hlAAAAIBAJ|pg=PA37}} |publication-date=April 30, 1965 |page=35 |first=Jim |last=Peacock |volume=79 |number= |access-date=February 5, 2025}} The transfer never occurred, as the old Second Narrows Bridge was sold for scrap metal in 1970.{{cite news |work=Vancouver Sun |issn=0832-1299 |title=Second Narrows bridge dismantled: Golden goose is now an ugly duckling |url={{GBurl|-pZlAAAAIBAJ|pg=PA11}} |publication-date=July 15, 1970 |page=11 |first=Ron |last=Percival |volume=84 |number=163 |access-date=February 5, 2025}} In 1976, when the bridge was out of service after having a span destroyed by a ship collision, a conversion to a lift bridge mechanism was suggested again. However, the estimate of 18 months required to build a lift span was considered too much time to sustain a functioning rail network without a working bridge.{{cite news |work=Calgary Herald |issn=0828-1815 |title=Rumbling coal trains spot harbor's future |url={{GBurl|9XJkAAAAIBAJ|pg=PA32}} |first=Vern |last=Simaluk |publication-date=February 16, 1976 |page=32 |access-date=February 16, 2025}}

By 2003, the bridge handled 46 train crossings per day (out of a rated daily capacity of 59 trains),{{cite report |publisher=Greater Vancouver Gateway Council |title=Major commercial transportation system (MCTS) rail infrastructure improvements matrix |url=http://www.gvgc.ca/pdf/mctsrailmatrixfinal.pdf |date=April 23, 2003 |access-date=January 17, 2025}} and it was identified as a first-priority rail infrastructure project in Greater Vancouver.{{cite report |publisher=Greater Vancouver Gateway Council |title=Major commercial transportation system rail capacity & regional planning issues overview |section=§4.1: MCTS rail infrastructure priorities – Best use of existing system |pages=12–13 |url=http://www.gvgc.ca/pdf/mctsrailrprtfeb03.pdf |publication-date=February 2003 |access-date=January 17, 2025}} Three improvement scenarios were studied in 2004. The first scenario kept status quo operations between rail carriers but replaced the bridge with a new $110 million, {{convert|850|m|ft|adj=mid|long}}, single-track vertical-lift bridge replacement that supports higher speeds, has a higher {{convert|11.7|m|ft|adj=mid|clearance}} when closed, and is expandable to a double-track bridge. The second scenario maintained status quo operations but replaced the bridge with a new $420 million, {{convert|7,500|m|km mi|adj=mid|long|order=out}}, single-track tunnel (immersed tube below the Fraser River channel) to replace the existing bridge. The third scenario implemented coordinated rail operations between rail carriers but retained the existing bridge.{{sfn|IBI Group|2004|pp=5, A2.1}} The study recommended that coordinated rail operations be undertaken.{{sfn|IBI Group|2004|pp=86, 87, 88}}

In 2010, as part of investigations to replace the original Pattullo Bridge road crossing adjacent to the New Westminster Bridge, Transport Canada studied two possible options to replace the rail crossing: a double-track, single-deck bridge at the same elevation for $360 million, and a double-deck bridge for $470 million. CNR advocated its own option, which was a triple-track, single-deck vertical-lift bridge at the same elevation for $600 million. The upstream and middle bridge tracks would connect the CNR-controlled BNSF main line tracks north of the river to the CNR main line tracks south of the river, while the downstream bridge track would be accessible from all 5 approaches, like the lone track on the current bridge.{{cite conference |publisher=Canadian Federation of Agriculture |conference=Annual General Meeting |conference-url=https://www.cfa-fca.ca/events/2018-annual-general-meeting/ |edition=2018 |date=February 28 – March 1, 2018 |location=Ottawa, Ontario |title=Expanding capacity for the future |author=Janet Drysdale, Canadian National Railway |pages=14, 18 |url=https://www.cfa-fca.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/2018_02Feb-CFA-AGM-Expanding-Capacity-for-the-Future_FINAL_3.pdf |access-date=February 3, 2025}}

In the early 2020s, the Canada Infrastructure Bank funded a study to examine freight traffic needs over the New Westminster bridge. The study narrowed down to two options to address traffic growth. The first option was to simply replace the current single-track bridge with a new double-track bridge in the existing location. The second, preferred option was to maintain the existing bridge with structural upgrades, while also building an additional, double-track bridge upstream from the current bridge.{{cite conference |conference=2024 Transportation Association of Canada (TAC) Conference & Exhibition |conference-url=https://www.hdrinc.com/ca/news-and-events/events/2024/2024-transportation-association-canada-tac-conference-exhibition |location=Vancouver, British Columbia |title=Identifying a novel solution to address western Canada's most significant trade bottleneck |url=https://events.decorporate.ca/TAC2024/abstract/submission-summary.php?y=cGFwZXJJZD0xMDI5OTI= |first=Jeff |last=Simpson |date=September 24, 2024 |access-date=February 17, 2025}}

File:TRAIN BRIDGE FIRE 1979-80 1.tif

On December 26, 1975, the bridge was damaged when a log barge drifted into and through the structure, ripping out the {{convert|380|ft|m|adj=mid|main span|order=flip|0}}.{{cite news |work=Victoria Daily Colonist |issn=0839-4261 |title=Marine traffic moves again |url=https://archive.org/details/dailycolonist19751228/page/n1 |publication-date=December 28, 1975 |page=2 |volume=118 |number=14 |agency=Canadian Press |id={{ARK|ark:/13960/t9k438373}}}} The bridge was repaired and returned to service in late April 1976.{{cite news |work=Regina Leader-Post |issn=0839-2870 |title=Bridge ready by Saturday |url={{GBurl|vDJVAAAAIBAJ|pg=PA18}} |publication-date=April 21, 1976 |page=18 |agency=Canadian Press}}{{cite news |work=Ellensburg Daily Record |issn= |title=Amtrak train to B.C. operating |url={{GBurl|3kJPAAAAIBAJ|pg=PA2}} |publication-date=April 29, 1976 |page=2 |agency=United Press International |volume=75 |number=102}}{{cite news |work=Saskatoon Star-Phoenix |issn=0832-4182 |title=Railway bridge ramming in B.C. settled out-of-court |url={{GBurl|cTphAAAAIBAJ|pg=PA51}} |publication-date=May 7, 1981 |page=C19 |agency=Canadian Press |department=Regional}} The relatively quick fix was helped by modifying a recently completed design for a span that was just {{convert|5|ft|order=flip}} shorter, created by the Howard, Needles, Tammen & Bergendoff design firm of Kansas City, Missouri{{sfn|Sanford|2004|pp=[https://archive.org/details/royalmetalpeople0000sanf/page/162 162]–163}} for the Rulo Rail Bridge over the Missouri River in Rulo, Nebraska.{{cite web | url=https://groups.io/g/GNgoat/message/28313 | title=Re: Dec. 26, 1975 at New West }}

On May 29, 1982, a significant fire broke out on the New Westminster Bridge.{{cite web |title=New Westminster Bridge fire with tugboats attending |url=http://archives.newwestcity.ca/results.aspx?AC=NEXT_RECORD&XC=/Results.aspx&BU=http%3A%2F%2Farchives.newwestcity.ca%2Fsearch.aspx&GI=&TN=internet&SN=AUTO5562&SE=879&RN=66&MR=100&TR=0&TX=1000&ES=0&XP=&RF=WebStartDate&EF=&DF=WebFull&RL=0&EL=0&DL=0&NP=255&ID=&MF=GENERICENGWPMSG.INI&DT=&ST=0&IR=1243&NR=0&NB=0&SV=0&SS=0&BG=&FG=&QS= |date=May 29, 1982 |publisher=City of New Westminster |accessdate=December 27, 2019}} The fire put the bridge out of service for almost a month. The bridge reopened on June 23, 1982.{{cite news |work=Regina Leader-Post |issn=0839-2870 |title=Record expected in grain shipments |url={{GBurl|FZJVAAAAIBAJ|pg=PA21}} |publication-date=June 23, 1982 |page=B1 |first=Thomas |last=Nunn}}{{cite news |work=Vancouver Sun |issn=0839-4806 |title=Rail bridge opened |url={{GBurl|Lv5lAAAAIBAJ|pg=PA78}} |publication-date=June 24, 1982 |page=A2}}

On November 28, 1987, a barge struck the swing span of the bridge. While out of service, the swing span was hit again by a different barge on December 17. The bridge reopened on December 24. Repairs to the bridge cost about $2 million.{{cite news |id={{ProQuest|243691131}} |work=Vancouver Sun |issn=0832-1299 |title=Rail bridge re-opens early |publication-date=December 24, 1987 |page=F9}} The resulting legal action of Canadian National Railway Co. v. Norsk Pacific Steamship Co. became a leading Supreme Court of Canada decision.{{Cite journal | url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9781843145790/chapters/10.4324/9781843145790-45 |title =Case summary |website=www.taylorfrancis.com|doi =10.4324/9781843145790-45 |url-access=subscription }}

• List of crossings of the Fraser River
• List of bridges in Canada

{{Reflist}}

{{refbegin}}

• {{cite report |section=Section Two: Pilotage district of New Westminster |section-url=https://epe.lac-bac.gc.ca/100/200/301/pco-bcp/commissions-ef/bernier1968-71-eng/bernier1968-vol2-eng/bernier1968-vol2-part3-eng.pdf |pages=242–387 |url=https://epe.lac-bac.gc.ca/100/200/301/pco-bcp/commissions-ef/bernier1968-71-eng/bernier1968-71-eng.htm |series=Royal Commission on Pilotage |title=Part II: Study of Canadian pilotage - Pacific coast and Churchill |publication-date=October 1, 1968 |first=Yves |last=Bernier}}
• {{cite report |author=Canadian Transportation Agency |title=Inquiry report: 2019 Vancouver freight rail investigation — revised |publication-date=February 6, 2019 |number=19-00189 |section=§B: Co-production agreement in Vancouver |section-url=https://otc-cta.gc.ca/sites/default/files/2019-vfri-inquiryreportrevised.pdf#page=19 |pages=19–20 |access-date=March 11, 2025}}
• {{cite journal |issn=0096-3690 |journal=Engineering News |series=The New Westminster bridge over the Fraser River, British Columbia |title=Superstructure and erection |url=https://hdl.handle.net/2027/coo.31924062323047?urlappend=%3Bseq=665%3Bownerid=13510798900002232-677 |publication-date=June 22, 1905 |pages=647–648 |author=Engineering News staff |volume=53 |number=25 |hdl=2027/coo.31924062323047 |access-date=February 6, 2025}}
• {{cite journal |oclc=175311598 |journal=The Engineering Record: Building Record and Sanitary Engineer |title=The Fraser River Bridge, British Columbia |publication-date=January–June 1904 |id={{HathiTrust|mdp.39015084561862|Volume XLIX}} |pages=544–547, 582–584, 616–617, 644–647, 679–682 |number=18–22 |author=Engineering Record staff}} (5-part series from April 30 through May 28)
• {{cite report |author=IBI Group |work=Greater Vancouver Gateway Council |title=Lower mainland rail infrastructure study |publication-date=December 17, 2004 |url=http://www.gvgc.ca/pdf/GVGC_LowerMainland_Rail_Infrastructure_Study.pdf |accessdate=January 29, 2025}}
• {{cite book |first=Barrie William |last=Sanford |title=Royal metal: The people, times and trains of New Westminster Bridge |year=2004 |isbn=0-9735602-0-7 |publisher=National Railway Historical Society, British Columbia Chapter |location=Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada |oclc=60835657}}

{{refend}}

• {{Commons category inline}}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20070702161439/http://www.nwpl.new-westminster.bc.ca/nwheritage.org/phototour/riverlife/bridges_fraser.htm Archival photos of the bridge from the New Westminster Public Library]

{{Bridges of Greater Vancouver}}

{{Crossings navbox|reverse=yes

|structure = Crossings

|place = Fraser River

|bridge = New Westminster Bridge

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|upstream = Port Mann Bridge

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|downstream = Pattullo Bridge

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Category:Railway bridges in British Columbia

Category:Swing bridges in Canada

Category:Bridges in Greater Vancouver

Category:Bridges completed in 1904

Category:Bridges over the Fraser River

Category:Buildings and structures in New Westminster

Category:Transport in New Westminster

Category:Buildings and structures in Surrey, British Columbia

Category:Transport in Surrey, British Columbia

Category:Former toll bridges in Canada