Westham Island, B.C., farmers face mounting stress as bridge closure drags on

Delta, B.C., resident Charlotte Mitchell hasn’t slept much this past week.

The co-owner of Derek Mitchell Farms on Westham Island says the sudden closure of the island’s only bridge has turned daily life into a constant scramble.

“Mostly the biggest thing right now is the stress, lack of sleep, the unknowns,” Mitchell said. “We are super stressed just trying to get products to customers.”

Mitchell and her husband run a seed potato operation, one of many farms that depend on the century-old Westham Island Bridge to move produce on and off the island. 

The one-lane wooden bridge has been closed to vehicle traffic since Tuesday after a marine vessel struck the bridge.

The bridge was the island's only road access point, although a barge service has been implemented since its closure.

Westham Island, is home to a cluster of farms, about 200 residents, the George C. Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary and the Alaksen National Wildlife Area.

Barge access, lengthy repairs

TransLink, which owns the bridge, says early inspections revealed the damage was worse than initially thought.

“There were plans to have a temporary fix where there could be vehicles of a certain weight possibly travelling over, but that's not the case right now because the bottom line is safety,” said spokesperson Thor Diakow. 

Underwater inspections and detailed surveys are now underway, but TransLink says repairs could take several weeks. 

“We understand that residents want clarity about when the bridge will be reopened because it is affecting their livelihoods,” said Diakow. “But we need to properly assess what's actually going on with the damage … and until that time, we can't really commit to a firm date.”

TransLink has also been planning a permanent replacement bridge, though Diakow said there is no time frame for that project yet.

In the meantime, the City of Delta has arranged for barges to move vehicles and farm equipment across the Fraser River. One larger barge runs twice daily for heavy vehicles, while a smaller one makes four trips a day for passenger cars, according to the city. 

Mayor George Harvie says operating the large barge alone is costing the city up to $25,000 per trip.

He says the city has registered the situation as a local emergency with the province, which would help them get provincial reimbursement.

Farmers warn the barge system is not sustainable. Mitchell calls it a “Band-Aid,” saying loading and unloading vehicles is slow and time-consuming.

“It’s helpful, but six hours to get a vehicle off on the big barge takes a whole day or at least a large portion of it,” Mitchell said.  

Mitchell says her farm normally makes six deliveries a day, six days a week but those shipments are now falling behind, with more than 1,000 tonnes of seed potatoes sitting in storage.

“We're already feeling pressure from customers … we don’t know how we’re going to get it across.”

Lydia Ryall, owner of Cropthorne Farm, says delays threaten crops that are already deteriorating in storage.

“For us this is an agricultural disaster economically,” she said. “There's a lot of valuable products, vegetables, on this island and this is our livelihood.”

“Some farmers are saying that they won't be able to grow with this uncertainty of not knowing … some have mentioned defaulting on their mortgage.”

In addition to the damaged bridge, the city issued a precautionary boil water advisory for Westham Island residents on Friday after a leak was discovered in the watermain that runs underneath the bridge.

“It’s our wash water,” Ryall said. “If we don't have potable water to wash our crops, then we'll be sitting idle.”

The City of Delta says temporary piping is being installed to deliver water to the residents.

The Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness says it’s supporting the local government with emergency services on Westham Island.

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada has said it is investigating the strike.