In the early 1930’s, the Guinness family had become interested in investing in West Vancouver as a place for development. Acting on the behalf of the Guiness family, a syndicate named the British Pacific Properties Co. made negotiations with the Municipality to purchase 4,000 acres of West Vancouver land. In 1932, the deal went through for a total cost of $75,000, a price that worked out to $18.75 an acre. As a part of the deal, the company had committed to build all roads, water lines, water tanks, a school, a and golf course.

    Yet, even with all the amenities that they had committed to build, the Guiness family knew that the success of their investment depended on getting better accessibility to the area. Thus, a proposal was made to create a new bridge to link to Vancouver. The details of the plan such as where it was to be built and the number of lanes were controversial issues and met strong protest. Yet, the benefits of having a bridge outweighed the protests, as it would create jobs and stimulate growth. So, construction work was allowed to go ahead beginning on March 31, 1937. After a year and a half of construction, the bridge was ready for operation.