Snowclearing cable system installed

Crews have completed installation of a cable-collar system to clear ice and snow from the cables on the Alex Fraser Bridge.

The snow-clearing system will make the bridge “safer for drivers during winter weather,” said a media release from the Ministry of Transportation. It should also help to prevent closures on days when ice forms on the bridge cables.

Last winter, the provincial government spent between $1.1 million and $1.3 million to remove ice and snow from the Alex Fraser, which included applying a de-icer to beams and using a helicopter to blow ice off the cables.

In total, the bridge was closed for 18 hours. There was also one north-bound only closure of four hours, and one southbound closure of 31/2 hours.

After one snowstorm in December 2016, ICBC received 55 “ice bomb” claims from drivers crossing the bridge.

The new custom-designed system includes 10 collars, one stopper and one anchor on each of the bridge’s 192 cables. The system will be manually operated by crews of rope-access technicians who will load and deploy the collars as needed, according to the release.

Last month, crews successfully test-dropped 14 of the bridge’s collars during a storm that brought more than 20 centimetres of snow to Metro Vancouver.

The Ministry of Transportation said it plans to monitor weather conditions on the Alex Fraser and use the new system to ensure ice and snow does not crash onto the bridge deck.

The Port Mann Bridge’s cable-collar system was installed in 2013.