Officials for the Town of Port Hawkesbury expect that work will begin soon on two bridges that have been closed since the fall.
At last night’s combined committee-of-the-whole and special public meeting, Jason MacMillan, with the town’s Public Works Department, told council they expect work will start in two weeks on bridges at the intersection of Granville and Reeves Streets.
Concern over the structural integrity of the bridges arose last October after an inspection by bridge engineers noted significant deterioration. As a result of the closure, the town is blocking motor vehicle access to Granville Street north at the Prince Street intersection, and noted at the time that they expected the closure would last an extended period.
While the town noted last fall that alternate routes are available, they also created a walking path on the single-lane bridge to allow for pedestrian traffic. Also last fall, the town said they were in regular contact with emergency services to ensure proper access and response times during the closure.
In May, CAO Terry Doyle told council that design work took place and regulatory approval was granted to conduct remediation on the two bridges.
MacMillan said since then “a lot of activity” has taken place around the project including awarding the tender to Brilin Construction which has already started pre-construction activity, and he said the company will submit its documents and plans for the project to the town this Friday. MacMillan added the town has engaged an engineering consultant, and is talking to the distributor and the contractor for the proper way to repair the bridges.
