Damaged Westham Island Bridge repairs begin, necessitating weeks-long closure to pedestrians
To maintain access to and from Westham Island, a 24/7 water taxi service will be in place during the closure. The service will operate between 4888 Savage Rd. on Westham Island and Wellington Point Park in Ladner in Delta on the mainland. Travel time is expected to be about 10 to 15 minutes each way, depending on tides, with departures every 30 minutes. Overnight service will be available on call between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m.
Repair work will also include pile driving, which is expected to be loud. The City of Delta has amended its noise bylaws to allow construction to take place overnight if needed. Pile driving is scheduled to start Wednesday morning and will occur intermittently as work progresses, with timing dependent on site and river conditions.
TransLink cautions that the project is complex and that conditions may change quickly, leading to short-notice impacts. More precise timelines will be shared as the next phase of work advances, and additional community requests are still under review.
Last week, TransLink shared that following detailed inspections, the 1910-built wooden crossing between the farming community of Westham Island and Ladner was severely damaged by the marine vessel collision — a tug boat towing a large barge — on Jan. 20. The repairs necessitate temporarily lifting a section of the bridge to access and repair the damaged area, replacing damaged piles and beams, and reconnecting a critical pier to the bridge structure. Currently, the bridge has been knocked out of alignment.
Today, the City of Delta also announced it has lifted Westham Island’s boil water advisory in effect since Jan. 23, after inspections on the damaged bridge found a leak in the water main directly below the bridge. The municipal government has now confirmed that the leak occurred due to the vessel strike, with the water main now fully repaired and operational.
Yesterday, the Government of British Columbia announced it is providing supplemental funding support for TransLink’s operation of providing an emergency barge service between Westham Island and Delta to ensure farm produce and commercial vehicles can still access the mainland.
Prior to the incident, TransLink was already in the early stages of planning to build a new replacement bridge, given the age and deteriorating condition of the structure, and its known vulnerabilities.
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