$20 million Bridge project to start in fall

CONSTRUCTION is set to begin on a $20-million project to improve the Ironworkers Memorial Second Narrows Crossing's notoriously narrow sidewalks.

Between September 2013 and March 2015, work crews will be cutting off the existing 1.2-metre wide sidewalks on the bridge and replacing them with roomier 2.5-metre paths plus adding in a three-metre high fence made from vertical galvanized steel posts, designed to prevent people from climbing over.

But before the bridge gets a whole lot better for cyclists and pedestrians, it's going to get a whole lot worse.

Contractors will have to close the entire sidewalk, one side at a time, while they cut out the old pieces, install new steel joists and place new concrete slabs down on top.

There will also be nightly one-or two-lane closures from 11 p.m. or midnight to 5 a.m. while the work is in progress.

"I think, with the times that we have, it shouldn't cause too many traffic delays. That's why we're doing most of the work at nighttime," said Jay Porter, project manager for the Ministry of Trasportation. "Obviously, there's going to be some noise when we're doing the construction. We are cognizant of the North Vancouver side. That's probably where the residents are fairly close. We're going to work with the contractor to try to minimize the noise as much as possible at night."

The change is welcomed by members of HUB, a Lower Mainland cycling advocacy group. But the bridge project is still "incomplete," according to Fiona Walsh, HUB member and North Vancouver resident.

"It's all very fine to say 'The bridge goes from this point to that point and that's all we're concerned about right now' but in fact, it's the accesses that make the route complete or not and on either end, there's great difficulty," she said.

For that, the ministry should be working with the District of North Vancouver to plan for better access onto the bridge, Walsh said.

The designs also don't include a "rub rail" to prevent cyclists' handlebars from getting snagged on the vertical bars of the new suicide-prevention fence, she said.

As for the difficulties expected in using the bridge with only one sidewalk, "What else can you do?" Walsh asked. "That's going to be the ugly time, but after that, when we've got two-and-a-half metres on one side, they can take their time on the other side."

It will be up to the contractor to decide which side of the bridge will be closed first. HUB had lobbied the ministry to set up a shuttle to help cyclists across while the sidewalk is closed, but, "logistically, it made no sense," Porter said.

The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure has been eyeing improvements to the bridge for years. In October 2012, a near-collision between cyclists on the bridge escalated into an assault and police investigation.