An aging piece of Metro Vancouver infrastructure has malfunctioned, causing some problems for rail and marine traffic.

The Second Narrows Rail Bridge stopped working over the weekend, trapping 13 deep-sea cargo vessels.

Normally, the centre span of the bridge is raised several times a day to allow tankers and other commercial ships to pass in and out of the eastern end of Burrard Inlet, accessing the Parkland Terminal, TMX’s Westridge Marine Terminal and the Pacific Coast Terminal in Port Moody.

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Rail service to the North Shore has been largely unaffected.

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From the archive: 1979 collision of freighter into Second Narrows Rail Bridge

In a statement, the Port of Vancouver said that CN is repairing the rail bridge, with work expected to be finished on Wednesday.

“Commercial marine vessels that require a marine bridge lift, such as deep-sea cargo vessels, cannot transit through the Second Narrows until lifting operations resume,” the port said in a statement.

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