Weakened support in Fraser Valley bridge creates hollow, cuts off traffic

MISSION, B.C. – An undermined wooden support has forced the Ministry of Transportation to close a bridge in B.C.’s Fraser Valley.

The Dewdney Slough Bridge is located about eight kilometres east of the community of Mission.

The ministry says a maintenance contractor shut down the bridge in the morning after noticing a shift in the structure.

It says engineers learned that the top of a wooden support pile had weakened and the bridge settled down onto a stronger section of the pile, creating a dip in the bridge deck.

The bridge is not in danger of collapsing, although the ministry doesn’t know when it will reopen and the closure could last days.

Motorists are asked to detour on Highway 1, using Highway 11 through Mission in the west or Highway 9 through Agassiz in the east.