THE FRIDAY
CANADIAN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER AWARD 2012
TRI-CITY NEWS CANADIAN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER AWARD 2012
They’ll agree for Xmas
Last chance for giving
SEE FACE TO FACE, PAGE 11
SEE THINGS-TO-DO GUIDE, PAGE 19
DEC. 21, 2012 www.tricitynews.com
INSIDE
Christmas Light List/18 Tri-City Spotlight/30 Community Calendar/31 Sports/34
TIM FITZGERALD/THE TRI-CITY NEWS
Behnaz Nana warms up in front of the fire Tuesday evening at the Port Moody recreation complex before the arrival of the CP Rail Holiday Train, making the final stop on a cross-continent journey. See story, photos page 3.
Contractor will pay for bridge fixes Measures taken to prevent snow problems: TI head By Sarah Payne and Jeff Nagel BLACK PRESS
“Absolutely unacceptable.” B.C. Transportation Minister Mary Polak used that phrase repeatedly Thursday afternoon at a press conference to
address the closure one day earlier of the brand new Port Mann Bridge when falling chunks of snow and ice damaged vehicles crossing the span. “Yesterday’s events on the Port Mann Bridge were absolutely unacceptable,” she told reporters. “Like everyone else, I was feeling horrified at the images people were sending in. It was absolutely shocking. “I can’t imagine what
it must have felt like for those motorists going across the bridge and seeing huge pieces of ice coming down around them. It’s absolutely unacceptable.” Po l a k a n d M i k e Proudfoot, CEO of t h e Tr a n s p o r t a t i o n Investment Corp. (TI Corp.) said it’s up to the contractor, Kiewit Flatiron, to come up with a solution — at no cost to taxpayers. “This design for the
bridge contemplates measures for the accumulation of snow and ice,” Proudfoot said. “Those haven’t been effective so the ball’s back in the contractor’s court to come up with a proper solution.” Said Polak: “We will be looking to the contractor to provide us not only with a long-term, permanent solution that ensures this never, ever occurs again but, also, an immediate fix to
the problem so that the bridge is open and indeed safe for the travelling public.” Still, they made no guarantees that weather conditions will not force another closure of the bridge. Both were grilled by reporters on what measures were in place to ensure there are no problems with accumulation of snow and ice. see NO PREVIOUS, page 6
DAN KINVIG/BLACK PRESS
Karl Nylund of Abbotsford, whose car’s rear window was shattered by falling ice on the Port Mann Bridge.