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Snow clearing on bridges costs $6 million in Lower Mainland

The Alex Fraser cost $1 million and the Port Mann cost $4 million
95084BCLN2007Alex-Fraser-RegNatarajan-Flickr
The province spent $1 million clearing ice and snow off the Alex Fraser Bridge this winter.

It cost the province $1 million to clear ice and snow from the Alex Fraser Bridge this winter, according to the Ministry of Transportation.

Heavy ice and snow this winter contributed to bumping up the figure from last year, when the province spent nothing.

"There was no monitoring and closures required due to snow and ice on the cables or crossbeam on Alex Fraser Bridge in 2015/16 [and] therefore there were no costs,” said transportation ministry spokesperson Danielle Pope.

Over 100 drivers reported ‘ice bombs' falling from the Alex Fraser and smashing car windshields in December, according to ICBC spokesperson Sam Corea. This led the province to close the bridge several times over the course of the winter.

RELATED: Intense snowfall smashes car windshields on Alex Fraser

The ministry has explored helicopters and cable collars similar to the Port Mann bridge. According to Pope, the cable collars worked well but the ministry will explore other options before deciding on the next steps.

RELATED: Province looks for helicopters to solve Alex Fraser 'ice bombs'

Operating the cable collars on the Port Mann Bridge cost TI Corp $4 million this winter compared to $300,000 the year prior. Over 50 people reported ice and snow damage from the Port Mann this winter despite collars installed in 2012 that were said to have solved the issue.

 

 


 

@katslepian

katya.slepian@bpdigital.ca

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