THUNDER BAY — The City of Thunder Bay is looking to replace or conduct major overhauls of a number of deteriorating pedestrian bridges.
After conducting a scheduled review of bridges, the engineering division identified five that are most urgently in need of repairs.
The locations are as follows:
- Hartviksen Street pedestrian bridge crossing McVicar Creek (full replacement)
- County Park near Glengary Drive (full replacement)
- Brent Street near Theresa Street (full replacement)
- Blanchard Street near Hogarth St (replacement of deck, girders and railing plus abutment repairs)
- Clayte Street (structural concrete repairs to deck, railing repairs and repainting)
Project engineer Mike Vogrig said these bridges aren't the most highly visible parts of the municipal infrastructure but city staff inspect them every four years to ensure they stay safe.
"We've had some pretty major projects over the last few years, fixing up the Boulevard Lake Dam, the Edward Street replacement, Woodcrest Road [bridge], things like that. Now we're trying to catch up on some of these smaller projects."
The oldest pedestrian bridges were built in the 1970s.
Vogrig said some of them "are well past their service life" and are in poor condition, meaning they must either be completely replaced, or their entire deck and beam systems require replacing while their abutments only require patching.
Design and tendering work is expected to be completed this year, and construction will begin next year, with completion projected in 2025.
So far, the city has budgeted $2 million for the projects, but that figure could change depending on the bids that come in.
