Drivers who use the 200 Street/Highway 1 interchange may want to make other arrangements between Friday, Sept. 30 and Tuesday, Oct. 4.

The bridge across the freeway will be under repairs, day and night, for the entire five-day stretch, as crews from BA Blacktop replace a concrete slab beneath the southbound lanes at the south end of the span.

The slab beneath the northbound lanes cracked and was replaced last March.

The second slab hasn鈥檛 failed, but it is being replaced as a precautionary measure, said project manager Doug Hyde, because it was similarly manufactured.

Speaking on behalf of the  Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure (MOTI), Hyde said he doesn鈥檛 know why the first slab cracked. It could have happened as a result of the dip that formed when the soil settled beneath the bridge, he said, but added, 鈥渢hat鈥檚 only speculation.鈥�

BA Blacktop鈥檚 warranty on the $31.5 million overpass, which opened to traffic in September, 2004, expires next month, so MOTI, which has been monitoring the performance of the replacement slab installed last spring 鈥� which is thicker and more heavily reinforced than the original 鈥� decided to go ahead and replace the second piece as well.

鈥淢OTI has been doing ongoing inspections,鈥� said Hyde.

The ministry has been satisfied with the repairs, he added.

Hyde is not aware of any other similar failures on Lower Mainland overpasses.

鈥淭his is a unique situation,鈥� he said.

Hyde expects there will be long delays for traffic on one of the busiest interchanges in the Lower Mainland during construction and he鈥檚 encouraging drivers to opt for transit or find an alternate route.

For traffic that is not entering or exiting the freeway, 208 Street is a good option, he suggested.

The overpass at 192 Street, eight blocks west of the interchange, offers limited access to the freeway, while eastbound drivers may choose to use the 232 Street interchange.

Drivers who still opt to use the 200 Street interchange will face waits of about 20 minutes, MOTI estimates.

During the repairs traffic will be diverted on a 24-hour basis, to the northbound lanes, from 88 Avenue West to the signal light in the middle of the bridge. The diversion will reduce the current six lanes of traffic to four, with two lanes open in each direction.

Hyde said the driving public was very understanding during the delays back in March and he hopes that will hold true again during the upcoming repairs.

Anyone who would like more information may contact Hyde directly at 604-808-5881 or doug.hyde@shaw.ca.