More damaged light poles found on Confederation Bridge

More light poles have to be replaced onthe Confederation Bridge.

Strait Crossing officials said work continues to replace some light poles on the Confederation Bridge that snapped off duringhigh winds associated with the Islander Day storm.

A total of eleven poles snapped off and fell into the Northumberland Strait.

Bridge officials saidathorough inspection of all 310 poles laterrevealed a total of 20 more with problems

The highest wind gust during the storm was 158 km/h and the bridge was closed for almost 40 hours, the longest closure since it opened in 1997.

The general manger of the Confederation Bridge, Michel Le Chasseur said they are looking for the reason why the poles broke or were damaged.

"We want to find out what is the cause of this situation," said Le Chasseur. " Was it strictly the event or is there something else that we should know? We hired professionals to take a very close look at all of this," said Le Chasseur.

The poles arebeing analyzed in a laboratory to determine the cause of the breaks and damage.

Le Chasseur said it will take time to find out why it happened buthe hopes to have someanswers in a few weeks.

In the meantime, the affected light poles have beenremoved and are being replaced.

Work beganthis week.

Strait Crossing officials note they are still waiting for some of the light fixtures to arrive from the manufacturer.