VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – The winter weather hitting Metro Vancouver with ice and slush this weekend completely closed a major bridge for several hours once again.

At about 11:30 a.m., crews blocked the Alex Fraser in both directions due to the threat of falling snow and ice. The bridge reopened shortly before 6 p.m.

Ministry of Transportation regional director Norm Parke says they wanted to ensure nobody got hurt.

“We anticipated this and did a shoulder lane closure, but we’ve had observations that it has actually started to blow over into the other lanes.”

On Monday, at least 30 drivers reported broken windshields and dented vehicles thanks to “ice bombs” dropping from the cables on the Alex Fraser.

“The bridge has been open for 30 years, and this is maybe the second or third time we’ve seen ice and snow bits start to fall off the cables,” Parkes says..

No such problems have been reported on the Port Mann bridge so far. Parkes says snow-clearing collars are working effectively to keep that crossing free of ice build up.