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New Westminster rail bridge likely open Friday

The company that owns the disabled rail bridge linking Queensborough and New Westminster says it will meet its goal to have the bridge reopened by Friday. "We're still on target for the 29th. The girders have arrived. It's all been installed.

The company that owns the disabled rail bridge linking Queensborough and New Westminster says it will meet its goal to have the bridge reopened by Friday.

"We're still on target for the 29th. The girders have arrived. It's all been installed. We're down to the final bits of the reconstruction so it's looking pretty positive actually," said Frank Butzelaar, president of Southern Railway of B.C.

Butzelaar said he expects cranes loaded on barges will lift the 436-tonne span back onto its pedestal on Thursday

If all goes well, trains will be back to shipping industrial equipment, forest products and vehicles between Annacis Island and a rail yard in downtown New Westminster just one month after the bridge was disabled. A gravel barge struck the bridge in the early morning of June 28, causing damage to the protection pier, span and gear mechanism on the pedestal.

Butzelaar said there's still no tally on the cost of repairs and alternate measures to move goods the company has had to take since collision.

"It's largely covered by insurance but we don't really have that estimate yet. That's going to take probably another couple weeks before we really have a good estimate. But we're talking millions of dollars here," he said.

News of the bridge's impending return to service is being met with mixed emotions by residents of New Westminster Quay, many of whom have been enjoying much quieter nights since the decrease in train traffic and whistle blowing in the nearby rail yard.

"Well, it's back to the sedatives and baffles on the windows for some people. They've enjoyed it," said James Crosy, president of the Quayside Community Board. "We're not looking forward to them coming back in that respect but life moves on."

Crosty said while his neighbours have enjoyed sleeping without earplugs for the first time in years, he understands the bridge's current importance to local industry.

"We need the commerce and we need the industry. There's no dispute about that and it's good they're getting back into operation," he said.

Crosty said he hopes lessons learned during the shutdown of the bridge can be used to find ways to increase its use during the day to make nights quieter.

But while Quayside residents have enjoyed the respite, the proverbial balloon has been squeezed and residents in a different neighbourhood can't wait to see the bridge reopened.

Gerald Thomson, a River Drive resident said his neighbourhood has been overtaken by vehicles that Southern Railway is now transporting over the Queensborough Bridge.

"There must be 200 to 300 brand new Lexus SUVs parked all over the place with stickers in the windows. They came in the night," he said. ""My street is being used for a conduit for all this traffic and it's just a small residential street. It's been like a speedway."

Most of the vehicles are being stored in a vacant lot owned by the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, which has agreed to lease the lot up until July 29.

Butzelaar said the company did receive complaints at the beginning but both the City of New Westminster and Southern Railway have asked the drivers to slow down.

"We take a lot of measures to make sure that the company that is driving the vehicles through the neighbourhood is monitoring their speed and following the stop signs Butzelaar said. "We made sure that they were doing that and we've kept it at a very reasonable level and I haven't heard any recent complaints from neighbours."

Transport Canada has concluded Mercury Launch and Tug, the company that owns the tug involved in the accident, was fully in compliance with all transportation and safety regulations at the time of the accident.

The Transportation Safety Board is still conducting its investigation into the cause and contributing factors to the crash. Marine investigation manager Raymond Mathew said field work for investigators is nearly done but it could still be some time before any conclusions are reached.

"We are waiting to interview a couple people and gather more information. It will be another two weeks before we see whether we will write a full report or address a couple safety issues that have been identified in our process," he said.

Mathew said if a full report is ordered, it will likely take a year before it is released.