It’s going to be a while, actually months, before the Highway 17A overpass is fixed.
The lanes were closed following a crash July 18 when a commercial truck smashed into the overpass while heading south on Highway 99.
According to the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure (MOTI), only the design for the repairs will be done this summer.
And nothing else, such as when the overpass will be repaired, will be known until then.
The ministry and staff however are working on a temporary fix, such as switching one of the northbound lanes on the overpass to southbound, to allow vehicles to cross the overpass and continue south.
The province and city will meet soon to figure out how that will work, Delta Mayor George Harvie told the Optimist.
Harvie wrote the ministry last week asking for a date for repairs.
The mayor also pointed out there needs to be better signage at exit 13 on Highway 17, showing motorists the detour route.
Delta South MLA Ian Paton also wrote to MOTI Minister Rob Fleming, asking that the HOV lane on the overpass be switched to southbound.
Paton said the closure is causing, “drastic traffic disruptions.”
MOTI told the Optimist that the “full timeline and cost of repairs won’t be available until the ministry has an approved design.
“However, the repair is significant and is expected to take several months to complete,” MOTI said.
The incident involved a big truck that crashed into the overpass as it was southbound on Highway 99. Two of the five girders of the Highway 17A overpass, built in 1959, will need significant repairs.
The trucking company involved in the accident is currently being investigated.
During 2022, and up until June 14 of this year, 19 commercial trucks have crashed into highway overpasses, most of those in the Lower Mainland.
MOTI has indicated that higher fines, steeper penalties, longer suspensions, and more driver education will be brought “in the coming months.”
Dave Earle, with the B.C. Trucking Association, said previously that he welcomes tougher penalties.
“All of it,” Earle said when asked which measures he’d like to see to improve trucking safety.
He favours suspending the licences of companies for those with bad records. When companies are told they can’t operate for a few weeks, “You get shut down, you’re paying attention right now. That’s not a bad thing.”
