Bridge in North Lake should be replaced by winter

Work on replacing the bridge in North Lake, P.E.I.,is set to begin Aug. 12.

Built nearly 50 years ago,the bridge that connects the two sides of North Lake Harbour is an important passageway for both cars and boats in the area.

Staff at the Department of Transportation say thebridge is on its "last legs"and has needed replacing for some time.

Neil Lawless, a bridge engineer with the province, said the bridge is currently reduced to one lane of traffic and has a weight restriction.

"It has served its useful life," he said.

$4M price tag

In January the provincial government announced it was investing $2.5M to replace the bridge, but it is now expected to cost the province more.

The province met with the local harbour authority and found that itneededto improve clearance for boat traffic, a spokesperson from the department said.This resulted in some design changes anda higher budget.

The tender for the work went out on July 4and has not yet been awarded but Lawless said the work should cost about $4 million.

He saidthis is one of the largest bridge replacementsthe province has ever done.

"It's going to have two piers in the water and it's going to be three spans of precast concrete girders," he said."Each spans about 25 metres so the total bridge length will be 75 metres."

There will be a 6.5-kilometre detour for traffic for the duration of the project, but Lawless said the work shouldn't affect local fishermen.

"They'll certainly have to be aware of the construction overhead and we'll have signs and whatnot to direct the boat traffic to stay within a certain width of the bridge," he said.

Construction is expected to wrap up December 20.

More P.E.I. news