The first night of five months worth of repairs to the Pattullo Bridge went less than peacefully for nearby residents.
“The jack-hammering was constant…we were kept up until probably 2:30 a.m.,” said Rae Clair.
“I thought they were doing this during the day, not when people were trying to sleep.”
The New Westminster resident was one of many people surprised and upset to discover work on the Pattullo carrying over into the middle of the night.
TransLink says the jackhammers were necessary because of rebar discovered while removing the bridge’s deck surface, and have apologized for the noise.
“Equipment was being repeatedly damaged by rebar. Due to the age of the bridge, the depth of the rebar was unclear. This was significantly affecting progress of the work. Because of the urgency of completing the work to reopen some lanes on Monday, jackhammers were employed as an effective method of locating the rebar, to complete the milling work,” they wrote in a statement.
“This was not anticipated and we apologize for the unexpected overnight noise. We want to ensure neighbours that the milling work is complete, and we are working with our contractor to do everything they can to reduce noise during this major construction project.”
The bridge is closed until Monday morning at 5 a.m. Once the bridge re-opens, it will only have one lane operating in each direction until Sept. 30.
In addition, the bridge will be closed to all traffic two nights a week and one weekend a month to give crews additional time and space to get work done as quickly as possible.
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Clair says she hopes the first night of construction isn’t a sign of things to come.
“We do work early in the morning. If we’re not getting to sleep until 2:30 in the morning, then it’s pretty concerning,” she said.
TransLink says it expects increased congestion and warns that those lane closures will likely add 40 minutes to commutes. They’re asking nearby residents to call their customer service line if there are future concerns.
“We know that this will be a challenging five months for local residents and businesses and we thank them for their patience,” they wrote.
– With files from Yuliya Talmazan
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