Work began in November to replace a 56-year-old bridge over the Red River Floodway that skirts Winnipeg from the southeast to northeast.
The span in question on PTH 59 North suffered some damage in July 2018, when a dump truck hit the bridge while trying to pass underneath it.
A subsequent inspection found the bridge girder and a portion of the deck were damaged.
According to a press release issued last September, Manitoba Infrastructure Minister Ron Schuler said the structure “was compromised to the point where there was no value in just trying to rehab it.”
The heavily trafficked bridge, with more than 17,000 vehicles passing over every day, connects Birds Hill Provincial Park, the beaches along the east side of Lake Winnipeg and a number of First Nations communities.
A report from the Province of Manitoba’s fall newsletter notes a preliminary design for the replacement of the bridge structure was completed in October 2019 after consultation with local municipalities, landowners and stakeholders from the area.
The chosen alternative has the lowest overall cost, requires the least amount of land acquisition, improves access to PTH 59 and will have minor traffic disruptions during construction periods. The detailed design was completed last September. A tender for construction was issued the following month.
Some considerations in implementing this project include reconstructing the highway and bridge using switchovers and staging construction to maintain current levels of service on PTH 59 as well as maintaining traffic flow through the site during construction for the upcoming Manitoba Winter Games at Springhill Winter Park. The work also has to be done without impacting the operation of the floodway to protect the city of Winnipeg during major flood events.
Bridge piers have been designed to minimize impact on groundwater wells in the vicinity during construction.
One cost-saving measure is the use of recycled pavements, more specifically reclaimed asphalt pavement.
Long-life reinforcing steel will be used to greatly reduce possible deck and barrier deterioration thereby extending the life of the structure. Performance graded asphalt cements will be applied to pavements to extend the service life and reduce long-term maintenance costs.
The replacement structures reportedly will be two separated seven span bridges over 300 metres long. Each bridge will support three lanes of traffic – two travel lanes and one acceleration/deceleration lane. A new two-way access loop will be constructed under the bridge with an improved off-ramp onto Oasis Road. A portion of the curve of PTH 59 east of the bridge will be also be realigned to provide a smoother roadway.
The bridges will be erected in two main stages over three years.
According to the plan, the existing bridge, two lanes southbound and one lane northbound, will continue to operate in its current condition while a new structure is built parallel to it.
During this phase, southbound travel will be reduced at times to single lane travel. The access ramp under the bridge and the off-ramp from PTH 59 to Oasis Road will also be periodically closed during this first phase.
In Stage 2, traffic will move from the existing bridge to the newly constructed northbound bridge with the three lanes of the northbound bridge temporarily reconfigured to support two lanes of traffic in each direction. During that time, the existing bridge will be demolished and the new southbound bridge will be built in its place.
The first stage is expected to be completed by December with work beginning on phase two early in 2022. During Stage 2, the off-ramp from PTH 59 to Oasis Road will be open, however, the access ramp under the bridge will be closed.
In the interest of public safety, both the Duff Roblin Parkway and a nearby snowmobile Trail will be closed throughout the construction period.
The new bridge’s height clearance will be 1.5 metres more than the old bridge to meet current standards. That improvement will also keep the bridge above floodwaters if the floodway is activated and levels beneath it rise.
The contractor is MD Steele Construction Ltd.
Construction is expected to wrap up by the fall of 2023.
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