The latest incident involving an overheight vehicle trying to cross the 5th Street Bridge has Courtenay’s Mayor sounding the alarm.
An eyewitness told Vista Radio that around 7:30am Tuesday morning, a lowered crane on the back of a flatbed truck started rubbing against the scaffolding set up inside the bridge.
They said drivers were hesitant to follow, and some construction workers came running out in a panic.
Mayor Bob Wells says there have been a few instances of vehicles trying to squeeze under the 3.6 metre height allowance.
“Unfortunately, they haven’t made it so that’s causing some potential health and safety issues with the workers who are working on the bridge as well as the potential of causing more damage to the bridge that would have to be repaired,” Wells added.
“We really want to make sure those workers are kept safe and any overheight vehicle needs to know what their height is. If your (vehicle is) over 3.6 metres, or you’re not sure, then we’re just saying, take another route.”
Alternate routes for over height vehicles include:
- 17th Street Bridge
- Condensory Bridge: Anderton Avenue to Condensory Road
- North Connector: Piercy Road
The city says the 5th Street Bridge Project is on track to be delivered within the approved $6.5 million budget.
The city has received $1.96 million in grant funding from the federal and provincial governments through the New Building Canada – Small Communities Fund. The remainder of the project costs will be funded by the city.
According to the city, the bridge accommodates 20,000 vehicles, 650 pedestrians and 500 cyclists each day.
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