Defective Granville Bridge work put Vancouverites in "substantial danger": lawsuit

Granville Bridge (EB Adventure Photography/Shutterstock)

The City of Vancouver is suing three construction companies over what it alleges was faulty rehabilitation work on the Granville Bridge.

The City points to several defects and deficiencies in work that happened between 2019 and 2021 in a notice of civil claim filed last week in the Supreme Court of BC.

The three defendants, Associated Engineering Ltd., Graham Infrastructure LP, and Ross Rex Industrial Painters Ltd., were tasked with replacing certain expansion joints that connect segments of the bridge, installing rubber troughs underneath some joints, and re-coating some structural steel elements.

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But the City says the penetrating sealer that was supposed to be applied during the re-coating wasn’t, the caulking application was skipped, and now the joints and surrounding asphalt let in water and runoff, including road salt, into the structural elements of the bridge.

The rubber troughs also don’t function as intended. The City says they overrun and clog, causing runoff to flow into unintended areas on the bridge.

The City alleges these errors are contributing to the corrosion and degradation of the bridge, which poses a “substantial danger” to drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians who use the bridge.

The City is taking the three companies to court to pay for the cost of repairing and remedying the damage to the bridge — arguing they knew or ought to have known that their services would give rise to defects, deficiencies, and resulting damage that would create a hazard for bridge users.

The construction firms have not yet responded to the City’s court filing, and the allegations have not been proven in court.

In a statement on Tuesday to address public concerns, the City states the Granville Bridge “does not pose any structural safety risks to the public. Public safety remains the City’s highest priority.”

The City explained that its legal filing’s description of the bridge posing a “real and substantial danger” to the public is a legal language requirement for the claim it is pursuing.

Meanwhile, construction is currently ongoing on the separate project to build the Granville Connector’s pedestrian and cycling pathways on the west side of the bridge deck. The Granville Connector is expected to reach completion by late 2024.

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Editor’s note: This article has been updated with the City of Vancouver’s statement.