It’s going to be “slow going” on the Bridge of Nations this year as the city undertakes a $7.9-million renovation of the Paris Street structure spanning CP Rail lines.
So describes city roads engineer Stephen Holmes, who encourages people to consider taking alternate routes.
“It's one of our major assets,” he said. “We want to do a thorough maintenance upkeep contract to keep it in good condition.”
The four-lane bridge, which was constructed in 1973 and carries a daily traffic volume of approximately 35,000, will be narrowed to one lane in each direction for much of the year.
This week, crews are removing medians on the bridge’s approaches so they can better accommodate traffic throughout the bridge renewal project, which is expected to begin next week and conclude by late October.
“The contractors try to minimize the time they are on-site for the busier traffic periods, but we'll have to see how that work goes,” Holmes said.
Work will begin on the east side, with one lane of traffic open in each direction on the west side. The effort will later switch sides to ensure there is always one lane open in each direction.
The renewal work is expected to extend the bridge’s life by at least a couple of decades. Asphalt and waterproofing will be replaced alongside a “thorough review of the top side of the deck and the underside of the deck,” Holmes said. When accompanied by regular maintenance, the next major renewal effort won’t be expected until approximately 2050.
The city is in the process of installing signs on either side of the bridge, which they’d originally planned on doing with greater lead-time in advance of the project’s start date.
“Within the last few days, because of the favourable weather conditions, the contractor wanted to get in there earlier and we didn’t want to hold them up,” Holmes said, adding that with a project of this scale it’s important they get as much time as possible this season.
The Bridge of Nations renewal was approved by city council last year at a cost of $7.9 million. The project was awarded to Chelmsford-based Bélanger Construction Inc., the lowest of three bidders
While the bridge work has been deemed necessary for proactive maintenance reasons, the city is also using it as an opportunity to make the bridge more appealing for active transportation.
The median will be narrowed from four feet to two feet wide and the lanes of traffic will each narrow to 3.5 metres from their current width of approximately four metres. This will help accommodate the construction of bike lanes in both directions alongside existing sidewalks at the edges of the bridge, which will link up with the broader Paris Notre Dame Bikeway.
A width of 3.5 metres for traffic “is a common width we use throughout the city on our road design,” Holmes clarified, adding that it’s “pretty standard.”
There will be a curb separating vehicular traffic from the bike lanes and sidewalks.
Alongside work on the bridge itself, the approaches on either side will also be resurfaced up to Van Horne Street to the north and John Street south, where bike lanes will also be added.
As work takes place on the bridge’s surface, crews will continue examining and making necessary repairs to its soffit (underside).
During a city council meeting last year, Holmes reported that CP had found “large chunks of concrete in their yard, which is pretty alarming.”
“That is one of the higher risks, and that is something that if this would be deferred we would have to take time monitoring to make sure that doesn’t happen again.”
In conversation with Sudbury.com this week, Holmes clarified that no one has been injured as a result of the spalling concrete, nor has any property been damaged. The structural integrity of the bridge is still sound, he said, with the spalling a safety concern.
A platform is being built under the bridge so crews can inspect and repair/replace potentially loose concrete along the stretch of city and CP Rail property which the bridge spans.
Last year, Holmes reported to city council on the possibility of installing a pedestrian fence on the east and west sides of the bridge along its barrier walls to reduce the risk of people attempting to jump. He clarified this week that discussions about this possibility are ongoing and that nothing has been decided. Staff are expected to come back to city council with design options and costs in the event their review concludes the option should be considered.
Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com.
