MISSION (NEWS 1130) – A bridge connecting Mission to Hope along the Lougheed Highway is closed after a dip caused a crack across the middle of the span.

No one was on the Dewdney Bridge when the structural issues began this morning. The span has a dip that crews estimate to be about 10 inches.

Crews say the damage is fixable and the the bridge is expected to be closed for at least 48 hours.

Stephanie Lock, who works at the nearby Dewdney Pub passed by the damage this morning. “It seems like it’s collapsed; not totally so that it’s broken, but it’s dipped… There’s a big crack across the road. It’s stressed out.”

“The residents on the other side of the bridge are pretty stressed because they cannot get home without taking an alternate route, which is at least an hour around.”

The bridge is closed. Drivers are being detoured to Highway 1.

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Here you can see the dip, which is coming from one of the beams underneath that runs across the #DewdneyBridge pic.twitter.com/hiUEvpkHm1 — Anita Bathe (@anitabathe) September 17, 2015

Photos by NEWS 1130’s Anita Bathe:

I’m told there are lots of elderly people on the Deroche side of the #DewdneyBridge who come to #Mission for doctors. pic.twitter.com/kk0HG3Jn3f — Anita Bathe (@anitabathe) September 17, 2015

The transportation minister isn’t sure when the bridge was last inspected, but he’s sure it was recently. Todd Stone is crediting his staff for doing a great job inspecting bridges every day across the province and adds that routine and frequent inspection caught this problem quickly.

He doesn’t have information on when the bridge might reopen. “I cannot say how long we think the bridge will be closed for. We’re working as fast as we can with our engineers to determine what exactly is the problem with that bridge.”

A report on bridge safety was commissioned after the collapse of a bridge in Skagit County, Washington State two years ago. It found the Dewdney Bridge to be in good condition.