Stink from below Alex Fraser Bridge to be reduced by wastewater treatment plant upgrades

For the thousands of commuters who drive across the Alex Fraser bridge every day,the journey can be a stinky one.

"It's prettyoverwhelming, especially in the summer," said CodyHehr, who lives in North Delta and crosses the bridge often.

"If you're going over the bridge on a hot, sunny day, that's all you can smell.And sometimes you're stuck there for an hour, right?"

The stench is caused by the Annacis Wastewater Treatment Plant just below the bridge, which serves 13 municipalities about one million people.

But the plant is about to undergo a $550 million upgrade so it can serve an additional 250,000 people. And with that upgrade comes $20 million in a new odour control system, which hasn't been updated since the '90s.

The new system will capture odorous air at the plant andtreat itchemicallybefore releasing it.

Metro Vancouver says that willvastly improve the amount of odour that makes it to the bridge deck.

"Iwould not say a100 per cent [improvement], but I would dare to say it would be probably about a95 to 99 percent," saidSimon So, general manager of liquid waste services atMetro Vancouver.

The improvements are good news for commuters likeHehr.

"Yeah, everyone who lives in Delta and works in the area will be thankful for that," he said.

The full upgrade is expected to be complete by 2019.