CN to rebuild key rail bridge connecting N.W.T. and southern Canada

CN Rail will rebuild the rail bridge over Steen River, Alta. mending a key infrastructure link between the Northwest Territories and southern Canada.

The bridge burned down in May during the Alberta wildfires earlier this spring. The rail line runs to Hay River, N.W.T., with rail cars shipping diesel fuel north. That fuel is then barged to remote communities where it's used to run diesel generators during the winter.

CN Rail is rebuilding the 110-metre span. The project will be funded by Imperial Oil and Suncor. Work is expected to be complete by the middle of August, according to a media release from CN.

The approaches to the bridge will be rebuilt with concrete and steel, while the steel deck of the bridge will be replaced, CN says.

"We are proud to be working with Imperial and Suncor in rebuilding this important link," said Buck Rogers, a vice president at CN in the news release.

Imperial Oil was expected to ship 55 million litres of fuel to the Northwest Territories for resupply this year.

After the bridge burned In May, N.W.T. Infrastructure Minister Wally Schumann said Imperial Oil planned to send in the rest of the fuel shipment to the territory by truck.