ronthecivil Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 They did de-ice... on Wednesday. TiCorp spokesman Max Logan said that the company contracted to perform bridge maintenance — Mainroad — had applied brine solution to the bridge deck at 4 a.m. on Wednesday with the expectation it would last 48 hours. Patrols between 10 p.m. Wednesday and 5 a.m. Thursday did not reveal any ice buildup, which apparently occurred between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m. Logan said the contractor would now be required to de-ice the bridge every 24 hours at minimum to avoid a recurrence. “We have asked them to review what happened and why ice accumulated,” Logan added. Read more: http://www.theprovin...l#ixzz2Gy12Pcb2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronthecivil Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 A Bridge for Three Seasons? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TOMapleLaughs Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 Looking forward to a reduction is speed limit combined with photo radar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronthecivil Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 Looking forward to a reduction is speed limit combined with photo radar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inane Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 Yep. Live and learn. Apparently they need to de-ice more. Looks like they will as well. But that's no excuse for the drivers. They should have expected winter conditions. It's winter. Ice is a winter condition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InTheCrease Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 Yeah live and learn doesn't cut it. This is Canada in the winter. Yeah, Vancouver is relatively mild, but give me a break. If you haven't learned that yet and you're running the highway system maintenance, you deserve to be fired because you clearly suck at your job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SterlingArcher Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 Learn how to drive, rather than blaming the bridge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverpig Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 How about a few years back when we had a good dumping of snow and the City of Vancouver had something stupid like 400k (I believe) budgeted for snow removal and salting, but blew the budget in the first few days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inane Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 9/10 years 400k is plenty for snow removal in Vancouver. What, should they budget $4M every year for it, so when the big dump happens once per decade they are ready for it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pouria Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 First it was ice bombs... and now Ice Follies with 40 vehicles involved in accidents during the morning rush hour as the bridge deck turned into an ice rink. The company that runs the new Port Mann Bridge has ordered daily de-icing to prevent a repeat of the mayhem that was Thursday morning's rush hour, when 40 vehicles were involved in collisions. Max Logan, spokesman for Transportation Investment Corp., apologized to drivers Thursday and said the B.C. Crown corporation is "redoubling its efforts" to ensure the bridge is safe for winter driving. Mainroad Lower Mainland Contracting, which does the winter maintenance, will apply a saltwater solution at least once a day as well as salt crystals when needed, Logan said. The brine had last been applied to the bridge deck at 4 a.m. on Wednesday and was expected to be effective for 48 hours. But just 26 hours later — and despite Mainroad checking road and air temperature on the bridge several times between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. to measure the potential for icing — the driving surface suddenly turned icy. The ice, poor visibility in fog and speed were blamed for the crashes. Surrey deputy fire chief Karen Fry said the bridge was "a mess" and it was even difficult to get tow trucks onto the bridge to remove damaged vehicles. Paramedics gave first aid to several people and one person was taken to hospital with minor injuries. TransLink temporarily rerouted the No. 555 express bus to Surrey City Centre. "Despite [Mainroad's] efforts, the concentration of saltwater brine solution was not sufficient," Logan said. "It's a disappointing morning for sure. "Drivers are expecting to have a reliable free-flowing commute. . . . Obviously we ask them to be mindful of winter conditions, but there absolutely cannot be a repeat of this. With more salting and application of the brine we don't expect these conditions to occur again." Drivers described the bridge as a sheet of ice. Langley resident Greg Sadowski said he wasn't surprised that traffic was spinning out of control on ice, noting that "it's crazy" coming down the hill on the Surrey side of the bridge even when the road is dry. "I knew if they didn't come out with the ice team it was going to be a gong show and it certainly was," he said. Amanda Thomas, who left her Fraser Heights home at 5:30 a.m. Thursday and headed west across the bridge, said it didn't seem slippery, but she drove slower than usual, under the speed limit, because it was hard to see. She got halfway across the bridge when she noticed a row of red tail lights, and stopped her car. "I figured there must be an accident up ahead, probably because of the fog," Thomas said. Seconds later, she heard a horn blaring. Looking in her rear-view mirror, she saw an SUV barrelling down the HOV lane beside her. "The car ahead had nowhere to go. The SUV swerved to the left, trying to get around the car and not hit him directly from behind," Thomas said. "He hit the (concrete) barriers, then the car, which hit another car and so on." Stunned, Thomas looked in her mirror again and saw an SUV coming up behind her. She inched her car forward and to the right. The SUV missed her Honda Civic but struck cars in front of her. "I told my friend I felt like I was in the middle of an action movie," she said. "They were going really fast. My opinion is they were driving like they usually drive to work, even though it was foggy." RCMP Sgt. Peter Thiessen said the situation was compounded by similar icy conditions near 264th Avenue in Langley. He wasn't aware of similar problems on other major Metro Vancouver bridges. Logan said it is up to Mainroad to determine when brine or crystals are applied, but both TI Corp. and Mainroad are reviewing their policies. Brine is typically used for prevention, he said, while crystal salt is applied once its starts to snow or to prevent black ice. "The contract essentially says they are responsible to make sure ice does not build up on the highway," he said. "It's not prescriptive, it's focused on what the expectation is. They did not meet the expectation." Mainroad spokeswoman Niki Taylor said the company had been instructed by the B.C. ministry of transportation not to speak with the media. The provincial government did not return calls. Logan said the new bridge has asphalt road surfaces similar to those on the old crossing, which also got brine every 48 hours in winter. He said six patrols checked the bridge overnight and didn't find any signs of ice accumulations as of 5 a.m. He said the situation Thursday "was likely a combination of the weather and the fog. When the humidity is high, it can lead to rapid ice accumulation," he said. "The other factor was the speed of traffic. Drivers were travelling at considering higher rates of speed." In the past, he said, drivers would have being going much slower because the old bridge was routinely congested. Last month, shortly after the new bridge opened, several vehicles were damaged when ice fell from the bridge structure. One person was hit on the head by ice that fell off the bridge's cable supports and through her roof. Patrick Smith, a political scientist at Simon Fraser University, said there are always problems with new mega projects. "The test will be if we have three more snow events between now and Easter and we have similar problems," he said. "The test will be we'd better not see this again." http://www.vancouver...l#ixzz2GxmBQwZd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n00bxQb Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 Blaming the drivers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pouria Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 Drivers are to blame 99% of the time. Aggressive driving habits, lack of attention to surrounding vehicles and road conditions, ignorance and laziness concerning maintenance and proper equipment (i.e. checking tire pressure, inspecting brakes, installing winter tires in the winter, etc.). In this case, de-icing the bridge falls on the maintenance crew, but it's still up to drivers to adjust to foggy and slippery conditions. Defensive driving Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n00bxQb Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 Bad bridges and Vancouver drivers are just a bad mix. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sedated Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 Can it really be the bridges fault that ice got on the road? I mean.. how would you build the bridge so that ice didn't get on there? Do some bridges have like heating pads underneath the road or something? Just a maitenance inssue. And just a bad year. Usually it's not as cold and ice prone as it has been. Just like when it dumps snow for more than a day. It happens so rarely that it's hard to throw blame around when it happens. I guess they could've been watching the weather and temperature better for maitenance. But as I first asked.. can a bridge really be blamed for ice on the road? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-SN- Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 Can it really be the bridges fault that ice got on the road? I mean.. how would you build the bridge so that ice didn't get on there? Do some bridges have like heating pads underneath the road or something? Just a maitenance inssue. And just a bad year. Usually it's not as cold and ice prone as it has been. Just like when it dumps snow for more than a day. It happens so rarely that it's hard to throw blame around when it happens. I guess they could've been watching the weather and temperature better for maitenance. But as I first asked.. can a bridge really be blamed for ice on the road? Just throwing this out there, but the bridge should have been salted/sanded at the very least. As far as I know it wasn't. If the bridge ices easily, as it apparently does, there needs to be some sort of plan to de-ice on cold days. Drivers here are terrible, as everyone knows. Even so, 40 car accidents aren't normal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hudson bay rules Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 So, after an accident or six, when did it become obvious to the maintenance supervisors that more brine etc was needed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pouria Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 Can it really be the bridges fault that ice got on the road? I mean.. how would you build the bridge so that ice didn't get on there? Do some bridges have like heating pads underneath the road or something? Just a maitenance inssue. And just a bad year. Usually it's not as cold and ice prone as it has been. Just like when it dumps snow for more than a day. It happens so rarely that it's hard to throw blame around when it happens. I guess they could've been watching the weather and temperature better for maitenance. But as I first asked.. can a bridge really be blamed for ice on the road? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wetcoaster Posted January 5, 2013 Author Share Posted January 5, 2013 Just throwing this out there, but the bridge should have been salted/sanded at the very least. As far as I know it wasn't. If the bridge ices easily, as it apparently does, there needs to be some sort of plan to de-ice on cold days. Drivers here are terrible, as everyone knows. Even so, 40 car accidents aren't normal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wetcoaster Posted January 5, 2013 Author Share Posted January 5, 2013 Why does the Port Mann bridge have a lot more problems than a bridge like Pattullo? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pouria Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 Speed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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