From page 1 ager Martin Bache said while ing a recent tour of the facility. that construction was on schedule and the firm should complete delivery of the panels — the majority of which measure 55 icet wide (17 m) by 64 feet long (19.5 m) — by mid-summer. The value of the Canron contract is estimated to be $20 million. There are 10 bridge deck sections currently in storage at the construction — site beneath the Lions Gate Bridge’s north viaduct. Canron has completed work on nine more sections and is ready to ship them, but Bache said the site can ‘only accommodate 12 sections at any time. The deadline fur comple- tion of the entire refurbish- ment project is fall of this year. Bache said that the project is behind schedule — replace- ment of the panels was origi- nally to have gotten under way in January — but his firm was on pace to meet its oblig- ations. Ninety per cent of Canron’s Annacis Islartd facil- ities are dedicated solely to the project, and 150 employ- ees have been toiling 24 hours a day in three shifts to ensure the sections are completed on time. Canron’s core business is structural steel fabrication for bridges, highrises and sports stadiums, The company has fabricat- ed steel for use in GM Place, the Alex Fraser Bridge and Safeco Field in Seattle. It also secured the contract to build the new home for the National Football League’s Seattle Seahawks franchise. This is not Canron’s first @ \~ WEST COAST AMUSEMENTS NEWS photos Mike Wakefield WORKERS finish the surface of new bridge deck panels in preparation for their installation. project involving the Lions Gate Bridge. The company was respon- sible for removing 12 con- crete sections from the north viaduct and replacing them with wider, steel pieces during a mid-’70s renovation and widening project. Bache said the unique, lightweight design of this pro- ject presented some new hur- dies for the company when work first got under way. ——ae + ao FOR “I “We had a large learning curve at the beginning,” he said. “It’s a very special bridge, designed to make maximum use of lightweight steel su they could use the existing suspension cables and towers already on the bridge. “It’s very highly skilled work as compared to regular building for highrises. That sort of work is much easier than this.” Workers first weld stiffen- 4 ee ey This coupon good for 560 pius ost ! rare | This coupon good for ee | 1 (coer eve Pee custemer) | oe eee oe ae et eet aes oe oe oom wwe ea CAPILANO MALL MARCH 29 - APRIL 2 Sunday Wristbands Noon - 6pm $16.00 plus GST or bring 2 Food Donations for the Food Bank and pay only $12.00 plus GST all the Rides you can ride GRANDPARENTS 60+... come to the ticket booth _ We have a special promotion just for you! ee SRST re em na FO ee 2 ke ing troughs to the underside of the deck plates during the fabrication process before sending the sections further down the line toward the assembly shop, where they are bolted together to ensure a seantess tit; 7200 individual bolts join cach two sections. “We have to assemble each piece here in the shop just as it will be in the field 10 make sure that when it’s 200 feet up in the air that every bolt fits through its hole,” said Bache. “The geometry has to be exactly correct.” Pedestrian and cyclist rail- ings and vehicle dividers are also added before the sections are sent down the assembly line on steel wheels to be sandblasted and painted. Ultrasonic testing is also used to detect possible defects or flaws. From there the deck plates are prepaved with a thin layer of epoxy asphalt and rock chips before Janes are painted in. Once completed, the pan- els are stored onsite or loaded onto a barge for a five-hour trip to the site. The first 12 panels — those which make up the north viaduct that leads onto the bridge — will be erected from land, while the tougher job awaits crews on the other 42 sections that are suspend- ed above the water. Nightly bridge closures are slated to begin in May, with several entire-weekend shut- downs also planned for the summer months. Closure of some of the marine traffic channels under the bridge are also expected during the replacement phase. Amessage scrawled or a bridge deck panel that North Shore commuters hope is more than wishful thinking. i YLORMOTIVE <;3 pENNZOTL AA, BRA, | SPRING SPECIAL « All service by Govt. registered technicians 2%. 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