Ironworkers bridge sees start of two-year maintenance project

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Feb 26, 2021 – Brent Richter/Vancouver Is Awesome

“It’s actually a pretty big job. The contract awarded for this work exceeds $15 million and will take about two years to do. It’s important structural maintenance work,” said Bowinn Ma, North Vancouver-Lonsdale NDP MLA and minister of state for infrastructure. “[The beams] are being recoated to protect them from corrosion, which means that they’ll also be cleaning up the bird droppings, which, I know, sounds very glamorous. They’ll also be installing some netting to discourage perching and nesting, as well as doing some minor steel repairs, like replacing rivets and bolts.”

Contractors have already built “movable containment scaffolding” that attaches to the bridge and prevents any contaminants from falling into the Second Narrows below.

The work is not expected to impact traffic for commuters on the bridge deck above, Ma said.

The project is meant to ensure the bridge can stand solidly for several more decades before having to be replaced, Ma said.

Read the full article at VancouverIsAwesome.com.