The Department of Transportation and Public Works today provided a further public update as to the status of the Vernon Bridge.
"As part of the Bridge Reconstruction Strategy, further investigation has been undertaken and we believe that the necessary repair measures on the Vernon Bridge have been identified. We are confident that the measures identified will address the deficiencies while not impairing the successful improvements to the tidal flush," said Transportation and Public Works Minister Don MacKinnon.
One of the objectives of the Bridge Reconstruction Strategy announced earlier this year was to identify deficiencies within the province's bridge inventory. This process has been given added urgency due to the ongoing absence of federal funding for road work. This has placed the burden of capital repairs, once cost shared with the federal government, completely at provincial expense. The life span of a bridge structure is generally longer than that of roads, and as the amount of federal dollars available for capital repairs has decreased the province has dedicated more and more of its resources to road work to address the immediate shortfall. As portions of the bridge inventory begin to approach the end of their life span corrective steps are being planned to reduce the long-term cost to taxpayers.
The repair measures identified to address the deficiencies in the Vernon Bridge include a structural upgrade to the steel sheet pile anchorage system. Cost estimates for the repair work are still being finalized.
Repair work on the Vernon Bridge is tentatively scheduled to commence in early January. This will address community concerns by allowing for an orderly flow of traffic during the holiday season. During the construction phase, detouring will occur and every step possible will be taken to reduce driver inconvenience. The repair work is scheduled to take approximately six to eight weeks to complete.