VANCOUVER — Ironworker Lucien Lessard, now 96, still remembers falling from the bridge on June 17, 1958.
He was working in the bridgedeck when the Second Narrows bridge (now known as the Ironworkers Memorial Bridge) collapsed on June 17 of that year.
“The bridge came out from underneath our feet and I was just following the locomotive from the deck down to the water. When I hit the water, I don’t really exactly remember. I was running out of air,” said Lessard in a news release. “When I came out of the water, I was lost. I was stunned. I saw some debris floating. I managed to float until a boat fished me out.”
With 19 workers dying in the incident, Lessard says he was lucky to survive with serious injuries.
“I had a broken leg, a broken arm and plenty of bruises. They put me in the back of a pickup and took me to North Vancouver hospital,” he recalled. “I spent three or four months there.”
He even eventually returned to complete the project.
And on June 17 he returned once more, to mark the 67th anniversary of the tragedy, alongside politicians, dignitaries, union representatives and others.
Organized by Ironworkers Local 97, the memorial event was held at New Brighton Park in Vancouver.
B.C. Labour Minister Jennifer Whiteside shared remarks in remembrance.
Ironworkers Local 97 business manager Doug Parton said it’s important for today’s ironworkers, and all tradespeople, to remember these kinds of workplace disasters.
“This isn’t just about remembering a tragic day. It’s about showing respect for the people who lost their lives building this bridge and making sure we never forget the cost of cutting corners on safety,” said Parton. “Every year, we come back to this site to honour them, and to remind ourselves why the work we do has to be done right.”
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