VANCOUVER -- A construction crane collapsed on the new Port Mann Bridge Friday morning, dropping a 90-tonne concrete section of bridge decking into the water below.

Nobody was injured in the accident, said Max Logan, spokesman for the Port Mann/Highway 1 Improvement Project. He said the waterway below was closed to marine traffic due to ongoing work above.

At around 9 a.m. a gantry — a horizontal crane, or truss, used to install pre-made concrete deck sections — collapsed when its footings gave way.

An hour later, one of the blue legs of the crane atop the partly-built bridge appeared toppled, visible from the deck of the existing Port Mann.

While construction on the new bridge halted Friday, work continued on the roadway leading up to it. Heavy equipment including graders, dump trucks and packers worked the gravel road surface.

Amid speculation that the accident could set back construction of the bridge by weeks, Logan said there’s no timeline right now for a return to work on that particular section. “It’s a decision that will be made between the contractor and WorkSafeBC.”

The approaches to the bridge span require about 1,000 concrete sections, Logan said, each weighing about 90 tonnes (90,000 kilograms), the weight of a small blue whale.

The fallen section will be salvaged from the river, he said. “At this point it’s too early to say whether it’s possible to use the piece or whether they would have to make a new one.”

Logan wouldn’t estimate the cost of the concrete section. However, he said the Port Mann Bridge project is a fixed contract and the dropped piece will not cost the province any additional money.

Logan said the area was cleared after the accident and the contractor will investigate what went wrong.

It’s not known what caused the gantry’s footing to buckle.

“That’s one of the key things the contractor will be looking at when they conduct the investigation,” said Logan.

The dropped section was to form part of the 820-metre northern bridge approach on the shores of Coquitlam. Together with the 350-metre Surrey approach, they will make up just over half the completed bridge’s 2-kilometre length.

WorkSafeBC sent investigators to the site Friday morning shortly after the accident, said spokeswoman Donna Freeman.

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With files from Gordon Hoekstra and Mike Hager

eduggan@vancouversun.com