Dozens of drivers have filed insurance claims over the "ice bombs" that came crashing down on Metro Vancouver bridges Monday, and the government has promised to pay the deductibles for all damaged vehicles.
The Ministry of Transportation said there were 40 claims filed as of early Tuesday afternoon, 30 of which stemmed from reports of falling slush or ice on the Alex Fraser Bridge. The rest involved similar incidents on the Port Mann Bridge.
No injuries have been reported in connection with the falling ice, but numerous car windshields were cracked and other vehicles were left with dents in their hoods or roofs.
"We're very thankful that no one was hurt during these incidents but we are not happy at all that vehicles were damaged," Minister Todd Stone said at a news conference.
"We can and will do better."
Apart from paying affected drivers' insurance deductibles, the government pledged to credit back the tolls motorists paid to access the Port Mann the day of the damage.
B.C. also promised to do everything in its power to avoid more trouble when the next blast of snow blows into the region, which is likely to happen later this week.
"Weather reports are saying that this is anticipated for Thursday and the goal is to have zero reports of vehicles damaged," Stone said.
Falling ice on the Port Mann hasn't been a major problem since 2012, when roughly 350 drivers had ice plummet onto their cars from the crossing's overhanging cables.
The government responded by adding 30 snow-clearing collars onto each of the 288 cables, which Stone said have been effective in preventing damage.
The falling ice on the Alex Fraser was particularly baffling, Stone added, as that crossing's cables don’t hang over the roadway.
"The higher winds that occurred yesterday could have played a role. We are continuing to investigate," he said.
Stone couldn't confirm whether crews applied de-icing agent to the Alex Fraser Bridge Monday, but said they will be applying it more frequently than usual in the coming days to see if that will help prevent further "ice bombs" from falling.
The government and its contractors will also be stepping up the monitoring of bridge conditions during the day and at night.
The Port Mann's snow-clearing collars will be deployed more frequently on Thursday as well, should the chilly forecasts prove accurate, Stone said.
Falling slush and ice wasn't the only problem for drivers Monday in Metro Vancouver, where spin-outs and accidents were a common sight on major routes. The Insurance Corporation of B.C. said it received 4,366 calls to its Dial-a-Claim line, a 13 per cent increase compared to the first Monday of the previous December.
With a report from CTV Vancouver's Michele Brunoro
