On Monday, August 31, the Department of Transportation and Public Works will begin work to replace the West Point Bridge on Route 14. The bridge will be closed to traffic over the course of the project, which is expected to wrap up in mid-November. Both east- and west-bound traffic will be re-routed onto Route 139, the Hamilton Road, but local traffic will have access up to the bridge in both directions.
“Our comprehensive bridge inspection program identified this bridge for replacement last year,” says Minister of Transportation and Public Works Ron MacKinley. “So, with the help of the provincial Government’s $510 million, 5-year stimulus funding initiative, we were able to add this project to our 2009 bridge replacement program.”
The current 4.5 metre timber bridge was built in 1954. It will be replaced with a new two-span structure that will be four times longer than the current bridge. The river banks under the bridge will be cut back and sloped, and rock protection will be added. The new bridge will also be built more than half a metre higher to account for possible future increases in water levels.
A detour map is available online: detour map