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UPDATE: Johnson Street Bridge will be lifted after receiving repairs for hydraulic issues

The bridge was down since Thursday afternoon after problems with the hydraulic fluid were discovered
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The new Johnson Street Bridge opened on March 31, 2018, with the last remnants of the old bridge being shipped out in June 2018. (Nicole Cresenzi/News Staff)

The Johnson Street Bridge will be raised at 6:00 p.m. Friday evening after it underwent repairs for the last day.

During a routine maintenance check on Thursday afternoon, engineers noticed something irregular within the hydraulic fluid system.

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Engineers were not available for detail at time of print, but the City of Victoria’s head of engagement Bill Eisenhaur confirmed that problems were confined to the fluids and that no issues with gears or infrastructure were found.

Repairs and inspections prevented the bridge from being raised since Thursday, barring marine traffic from going through.

Now some lifts will continue under specialized supervision.

“There will be a limited number of lifts, and these will be at scheduled times,” Eisenhauer said. “In addition to this they will be done at a slower speed, and that will be the procedure today and into early next week.”

ALSO READ: A chronology of the new Johnson Street Bridge project

At 6:00 p.m. on Friday the lift will allow four out-bound and two-in bound marine vessels to travel between the Harbour. Other marine traffic will have to call in with the harbour master to schedule a trip during allotted lift times.

Eisenhauer said the city will aim to have at least one lift per day, and that frequency will increase as capabilities are confirmed.

The $105 million bridge opened in March 2018, replacing the previous bridge after the project was delayed for three years and over-budget by $42 million.

nicole.crescenzi@vicnews.com


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