WEDNESDAY MARCH 11, 2015
TRI-CITIES
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thenownews.com
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Serving COQUITLAM, PORT COQUITLAM, PORT MOODY, ANMORE and BELCARRA since 1984
Will bridge finally open this month?
COQUITLAM, NEW WEST MAYORS HOPEFUL BAILEY BRIDGE SAGA NEARING END
John KURUCZ jkurucz@thenownews.com A more than two-decades-long saga between New Westminster and Coquitlam may soon be water under the bridge, albeit with a slight last-minute hiccup. New Westminster Mayor Jonathan Cote told the Tri-Cities NOW Tuesday the Bailey bridge replacement should be finalized by the end of this month. A leaky water main pushed back the work timelines last week, leading to paving crews having to dig up parts of the road on the New Westminster side of the crossing. “We’re at the very end of the project and we’re hoping that even by the next week or two that the project will actually be completed once the paving work is finished,” Cote said. Built in 1994, the bridge has been the subject of repeated delays, provincial arbitration and even a court case between the two cities. Despite all those historic barriers, Coquitlam Mayor Richard Stewart said he’s optimistic the two single-lane bridges will actually open this time around. “I believe [New Westminster] is motivated,” Stewart said. “If there was a barrier toward getting a timely completion, I think that barrier has been removed.” Last week’s development came almost one year to the day after the last prolonged closure of the Brunette River crossing. CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
SUBMITTED PHOTO BY BRODIE WINKLER
“I was scared because she was screaming, the lady, because she thinks her husband is in the garage with the fire,” neighbour Mark Cholewinski recalls of Monday’s blaze.
Fire sends 2 to hospital BLAZE STARTED IN GARAGE OF SINGLE-FAMILY HOME
Jeremy DEUTSCH jdeutsch@thenownews.com For the third time in less than two months, a fire has caused major damage to several buildings in Coquitlam. This time, fire crews were called to a housing development in the 3000 block of Riverbend Drive after a blaze broke
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out Monday evening in the garage of one of the single-family homes. The fire quickly moved from the garage to the home, which was in the middle of five units in the development. By the time the fire was out, the flames had spread to all five homes in the row, causing extensive damage to three buildings. Two people were taken to hospital
with minor burns, while 15 people were displaced at least for the evening, but likely longer. A couple with adult kids were said to live in the home, but the kids were not inside at the time. Mark Cholewinski lives across from the home where the fire began. CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
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