Metro Vancouver is calling on the B.C. government to help cover the estimated $1-billion cost to fix or rebuild the aging Pattullo Bridge, saying the province reneged on its warranty after gifting the bridge to the regional district.

The demand comes at a time when TransLink is struggling to maintain roads and transit services across the region, as well as find ways to fund a $23-billion wishlist of projects to expand bus and rapid transit lines in Surrey and Vancouver.

“If TransLink got left with a broken bridge, we should take that up with the province,” Burnaby Mayor Derek Corrigan said. “TransLink can’t afford this, and if there’s $1 billion going into another bridge, where is that money going to come from? Certainly, that’s somebody’s transit line.”

The Pattullo Bridge, along with several provincial roads and the Knight Street Bridge, were gifted to TransLink by the then-NDP government in the late-1990s when it created the transportation authority on the basis of delivering a comprehensive transit plan and major road network across the region.

The new entity was to be funded mostly by fares and legislated property taxes, which were considered palatable by mayors at the time in exchange for less-congested and safer roads and a more connected transit network.

Mayors have since balked at further tax increases, insisting they have no control over TransLink priorities, which has resulted in disparity across the region and led to cities being pitted against each other to get projects approved. The Pattullo, along with the two rapid transit lines in Surrey and Vancouver, are among TransLink’s long-term priorities.

But Corrigan maintains the provincial government had suggested that the Pattullo would have a longer lifespan when it downloaded the crossing to TransLink. “We got a bill of goods,” he said. “I think they warrantied that bridge when they turned it over to us.”

Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie agreed that the province should help pay to fix or rebuild the Pattullo, noting it had pushed through other major capital projects such as the new $3.3-billion Port Mann Bridge and now replacing the George Massey Tunnel at the expense of other regional priorities.

The proposed new tunnel, which is in the design stage, has frustrated mayors who say TransLink could ease congestion in the corridor if it had the money to add more buses.

“If TransLink is responsible for replacing the Pattullo or any other capital project, there should be a provincial component,” Brodie said. “The Millennium Line and Expo line … these were 100 per cent the province’s responsibility. They have always had a role in funding large infrastructure in our region.”

The debate over the Pattullo arises as Metro Vancouver heads into further consultation with Surrey and New Westminster officials over what to do with the 76-year-old bridge.

TransLink had initially cited 25 alternatives for the bridge — which is narrow and winding and does not meet seismic standards — but has since narrowed that down to six possible solutions. These include rehabilitating the existing bridge to three or four lanes, building a new four- to six-lane bridge at the existing crossing, or a new four-lane Surrey-to-Coquitlam bridge.

About 76,000 vehicles cross the Pattullo daily.

“It’s already overtapped because so many people are using the bridge now to avoid the toll on the Port Mann,” Corrigan said.

The Pattullo Bridge is cited as a priority as TransLink works toward a 15-year investment plan to create a transit network across the region. But Chief Administrative Officer Ian Jarvis admits the transportation authority is facing a decline of $4 million a year in tax revenues, which is hampering TransLink’s efforts to add more services.

And without more investment, TransLink’s Bob Paddon said the situation is “just going to get worse — everything’s going to diminish.”

Corrigan argued, however, that TransLink should start setting priorities, rather than trying to please every municipality by agreeing to their demands.

“There’s got to be more courage in regards to the TransLink board and management to say ‘You don’t get on the list’,” Corrigan said. “As long as you keep adding to the list, it’s going to be hard to get support.”

ksinoski@vancouversun.com