CN wants info on Burrard Inlet bridges report
Province to look at ability of bridges to withstand hits from larger ships
A provincial report that will determine how well bridges crossing Burrard Inlet would be able to withstand being hit by big ships has caught the attention of Canadian National.
CN owns the railway bridge at the Second Narrows, under which tens of thousands of oil tankers would pass over the 50-year lifetime of the recently approved Kinder Morgan pipeline project.
The province is studying the effects of ships on the Lions Gate and Ironworkers Memorial bridges, but not the privately owned railway crossing. However, when word of the provincial study reached Sandro Scola, senior manager of bridges and structures for CN, he wanted to know more.
“A member of CN’s engineering team has been in contact with the province to discuss the issue,” CN spokeswoman Kate Fenske wrote in an email.
The motor vehicle bridges are being examined under a federal law called the Canadian Highway Bridge Design Code S6-14, which analyzes collisions and ways to mitigate them. The study was ordered by Dirk Nyland, chief engineer at the B.C. Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure.
“The S6-14 code gives engineers guidelines to know what impact forces the foundations can withstand. It’s very important,” said Brian Gunn, a spokesman for a public-interest group called the Concerned Professional Engineers of B.C.
The Lions Gate and Ironworkers Memorial are critical pieces of Metro Vancouver infrastructure, connecting people, goods and services to the North Shore. About 182,000 trips are made every day.
Gunn said the S6-14 code does not apply to the railway bridge, even though the 120-metre-wide channel forms the narrowest gap among the three bridges that ships must pass by.
Coal, wood and grain shipments to the North Shore — and the jobs linked to those resources — are dependent on the railway bridge.
Gunn said CN is seeking information that would be applicable to its own crossing.
“CN’s letter tells me that the company is interested in the seven-fold increase in tanker traffic. There are times in the month when there will be four daily tanker transits instead of two,” he said.
“The whole thing needs to be carefully looked at. That means they’re looking at the traffic and collisions and what forces those collisions would bring to the bridge piers,” he said.
It is not the first time the province has looked at the safety of the bridges over Burrard Inlet. Faced with increases in ship sizes and additional vessels, the south pier of the Lions Gate was strengthened with tonnes of reinforced concrete about 20 years ago so it could better withstand being struck by a wayward ship.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Transportation said a “discussion” has been held with CN to advise them of the province’s study.
“Given the changes to vessel usage in Burrard Inlet over time and the potential changes in the future, the ministry initiated a proactive review of vessel impact protection in 2015. The ministry’s study does not include a risk assessment of the CN bridge, but we will share our findings with them,” the spokesman wrote in an email.
“There are significant safety measures in place for the operation of vessels under these bridges. The bridges are very safe,” he added. “The review will be completed in 2017 and form the basis for action going forward.”
CN’s letter tells me that the company is interested in the sevenfold increase in tanker traffic.… The whole thing needs to be carefully looked at.