Drivers of heavy trucks are now being told to keep to the right side of a Port Coquitlam bridge.
This week, the city's finance committee okayed $65,000 worth of maintenance work on the eastbound steel-truss crossing on Lougheed Highway.
The 66-year-old link over the Coquitlam River — close to Lions Park — is 15 years past its life cycle and needs to be reinforced, said Kristen Meersman, director of engineering and operations.
"It's an older bridge and we know we need to replace it but it's safe for traffic to operate on so it's not an immediate health and safety issue," she told The Tri-City News on Wednesday.
The retrofit comes as a result of a check this fall as part of a three-year city inspection program. The report showed corrosion to some of the steel members — largely due to heavy truck traffic, a city spokesperson said.
Design work is now underway for the repairs and it's expected contractors will be on the job next month, for up to four weeks.
In November, during its budget deliberations, city council will also look at adding $150,000 to the project for more bridge improvements such as deck and sidewalk joint sealing, flashing on the truss verticals and painting.
Meersman said the city will dip into its Major Road Network reserve and no outside funding sources are being tapped; however, Mayor Greg Moore told The Tri-City News that once council agrees to replace both Lougheed bridges — the steel truss and the westbound concrete side, which still has another nine years left — it will look at provincial and federal help.
