The Johnson Street Bridge in Victoria is now able to rise for marine traffic after a problem with the hydraulic lift system was fixed on Friday afternoon.
City of Victoria spokesman Bill Eisenhauer said the temporary lift suspension was due to a problem with the hydraulic lift oil system. The issue was noticed during routine maintenance of the hydraulic lift system at around 2:30 p.m. on Thursday afternoon.
City staff was working with the bridge builder, PCL Constructors Westcoast Ltd., and the hydraulic lift system designer to complete repairs. By Friday afternoon before 4 p.m., maintenance and an inspection were completed and a lift was scheduled for Friday evening at 6 p.m.
Eisenhauer said the bridge is operational and safe, but it will operate in “maintenance mode” into early next week as engineers monitor the hydraulic lift system. This means there will be a limited number of lifts at scheduled times.
The Johnson St Bridge lift is back in operation after some maintenance. A bridge lift is scheduled today (Fri) at 6pm to accommodate 6 vessels. Drivers, cyclists, & peds can expect delays. We are working w/ marine traffic to complete asap.#yyjtraffic pic.twitter.com/HMB4xYWvH7
— City of Victoria (@CityOfVictoria) June 28, 2019
According to Eisenhauer, during Thursday’s inspection, engineers saw an anomaly in operation.
“Out of precaution, they kept the bridge in a down position and did their maintenance work to fix that and correct that problem,” Eisenhauer said.
The bridge was still open for vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists during the lift suspension. According to Eisenhauer, there were no safety issues for anyone crossing the bridge.
The $105-million Johnson Street Bridge, which replaced the old Blue Bridge, opened in March 2018. The project faced several delays and was millions of dollars over budget. The hydraulic lift system is still under warranty.
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