A potential vulnerability has raised concerns about marine traffic passing under Victoria's new and costly Johnson Street Bridge, which has only been open for several days.
While the south side of the bridge is protected and bumpers have been installed in the channel underneath it, there is only a small temporary pontoon and a built-in guard along the north side of the bridge.
The lack of fendering on the north side means that if a ship were to mistakenly crash into it – something that's happened on the old bridge – it could get badly damaged.
"That pier has already got thickening of the concrete walls in key places to resist some kind of ship impacts," said project manager Jonathan Huggett.
But is it enough to withstand a full-on collision? According to Huggett, it all depends on how fast the barge or ship is travelling, if the impact is head-on or if the pier is simply grazed.
The old blue bridge suffered significant damage when it was hit in 1958 and again in 2011, when a south side fender was struck by a tug boat.
The city's dilemma is whether or not to spend more than the sky-high $105-million price tag the new bridge has already wrought following years of construction delays and problems with steel manufacturing.
"One option is to do nothing, and you say to them okay if you do nothing, these are the consequences, this is what it will cost: obviously nothing," said Huggett.
Two to three other options will be presented to council at a future meeting, but a potential price tag is unclear.
Brian Simmons, who operates a long-running watchdog website on the bridge replacement project, said the lack of fendering is cause for concern.
"We've just got this new bridge. Wouldn't it be prudent to have insurance against damaging it and it coming out of service?" asked Simmons. "Looking, there is a small pontoon fendering for the north west side. Again, I'm not an engineer, but it seems pretty small."
He said there are still many questions to be answered about the new bridge, such as what will happen in the event of a ship strike – and how long the bridge may be out of service in the event of such a collision.
Fender design is also at the centre of an ongoing lawsuit between the City of Victoria and an engineering company that claims it hasn't been paid.
Mayor Lisa Helps was not available for comment Tuesday, but it will still be at least a month before council sees potential designs.
"If they then say 'Here is a certain amount of money to spend on fendering,' then obviously we've got to go away and design it," said Huggett. "I've got to get Transport Canada approval to do it, and then we've got to get construction contracts to build whatever it is they want to build."
It means the north face of the bridge could remain exposed until 2019.
The new bridge was officially opened in a well-attended event held Saturday that included a dance party on the span.
The old bridge has been closed to pedestrians and vehicles and will be removed in pieces starting April 16. That process is expected to take about three weeks.
