Commuters on Highway 1 through Lower Lynn will find things are starting to look more verdant, and it isn’t because of the spring foliage.
A year and a half after it was taken out of use for refurbishment, the 60-year-old orange Lynn Creek Bridge is making its debut in green.
Project manager Jay Porter said his daughter wasn’t keen on the change but noted the new colour is strategic.
“It’s actually Lions Gate green. It's an actual colour that we chose,” he said. “The reason for it is it withstands the weather better than the orange – in particular, the mildew stains that end up showing up after years of winter rains.”
Contractors have resurfaced the deck, redone the parapets and are half of the way done recoating the steel structure, which should extend the bridge’s life until 2050. Porter expects the bridge to be back in action by July. The new Keith Road overpass, which is partially open now, will have all five lanes in use around the same time.
Other components of the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure’s years-long $200-million Lower Lynn improvement project are coming into place as well.
The Mount Seymour Parkway eastbound on-ramp to the highway (which was known as the Fern Street on-ramp until it was closed last year) is targeted for a June reopening.
Recently, contractors installed massive girders over Main Street, which will eventually become a new on-ramp that feeds both Dollarton Highway and Main Street commuters onto the Ironworkers Memorial Second Narrows Crossing. To safely get two arterials connected to the bridge in one lane, there will be a new signal alternate access between Main and Dollarton. That is expected to be open to traffic starting in August of this year.
The west sidewalk and bike lane on the Ironworkers should reopen at the same time, Porter said.
“We're still on schedule to have everything complete by the end of October,” Porter said.
