1958 Second Narrows Bridge collapse

Collapsed spans in August 1958
Date	17 June 1958
Time	15:40 ( PST)
Location	Burrard Inlet
Coordinates	49°17′43″N 123°01′35″W / 49.295296°N 123.026276°W / 49.295296; -123.026276
Cause	Engineering failure
Deaths	19
Non-fatal injuries	20 hospitalized
Inquiries	Royal Commission inquiry

The 1958 Second Narrows Bridge collapse occurred on 17 June 1958 at about 15:40 ( PST) while the bridge was under construction. 18 workers died in the collapse and 20 others were hospitalized. A rescue diver died while searching for bodies in the Burrard Inlet two days later. Five more workers died in other mishaps during the bridge's construction. The bridge was renamed the Ironworkers Memorial Second Narrows Crossing on 17 June 1994.

Inquiry

The Commissioner was asked to inquire into the circumstances of the collapse on June 17, 1958 of the Second Narrows Bridge, which was being constructed across Burrard Inlet under contract with the British Columbia Toll Highways and Bridges Authority. The Commissioner concluded that the collapse was due to a design failure in the temporary structures and recommended "that erection contractors submit to engineers full particulars of the erection procedures and details of design of the temporary works which the contractor proposes to adopt . . . " (p. 11).

See also

• Dominion Bridge Company

• Ironworkers Memorial Second Narrows Crossing

• List of bridge failures

• Phil Nuytten

• Second Narrows Rail Bridge

• Sherwood Lett – Commissioner of the Royal Commission, Second Narrows Bridge Inquiry

• Thomas R. Berger – lawyer who defended the Ironworkers union after the collapse in the union members' refusal to return to work until the bridge was safe.

Sources

This section contains a collection of sources that might be useful while the article is in draft. It's not meant to be part of the main article.

• Jamieson, Eric, Tragedy at Second Narrows: The Story of the Ironworkers Memorial Bridge, Harbour Publishing, 2008.

• Rasky, Frank, Great Canadian Disasters, Longman, 1961. (chapter 10)

• Mickleburgh, Rod, On the Line: A History of the British Columbia Labour Movement, Harbour Publishing Company Limited, 2018.

• Geddes, Gary.  Falsework, Canada, Goose Lane Editions, 2007.

• Last living survivor of Second Narrows Bridge disaster won't let pandemic stop him from honouring dead

• Second Narrows Bridge Collapse, Canadian Encyclopedia

• Images from The Vancouver Sun: Second Narrows Bridge Collapse, University of British Columbia School of Information

• Survivor of Second Narrows Bridge collapse dies of cancer, bc.ctvnews.ca

• Killed ironworkers remembered 60 years later, bc.ctvnews.ca

• Last surviving ironworker of B.C.'s Second Narrows Bridge collapse attends 66th memorial, Coast Mountain News

• This Week in History, 1930: The first Second Narrows Bridge was a disaster magnet for ships, Vancouver Sun

• Second Narrows Bridge survivor evades collapse with fluke scuba outing 66 years ago

• B.C. trades mark 65th anniversary of Second Narrows Bridge collapse, Journal of Commerce

• The Bridge, documentary by George Orr

• Obituary: Thomas BERGER

• Documentary revisits 1958 collapse of Vancouver’s Second Narrows Bridge, Globe and Mail

• Royal commissions and commissions of inquiry under the Public Inquiries Act in British Columbia, 1943–1980

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