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Crews begin removing Marina Park bridge (5 photos)

Repair work on aging structure will close section of Water Street to traffic next week

THUNDER BAY – A Thunder Bay landmark is getting a major facelift. Workers removed the first section of the Marina Park pedestrian bridge Thursday, part of a $1.3 million repair job for the aging structure.

Crews with Tom Jones Corp. - which originally built the bridge in 1994 - spent hours negotiating the section loose from its abutments before lifting it off with a large crane mid-afternoon.

The second, larger section will be removed using two cranes next week. Mike Vogrig, a project engineer with the City of Thunder Bay, expected that work to fully close Water Street between Red River Road and Camelot Street for the duration of the week.

City council had deferred the work for years before approving it in May. Reports had indicated the bridge was experiencing significant corrosion and section loss in its steel supports, and could not safely be kept open past this year.

After being removed from its foundations, the bridge will still require about eight to nine weeks of structural work before being replaced, estimated Vogrig.

Work on the overpass was expected to be complete in October, and should extend the life of the structure for around 20 years.



Ian Kaufman

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