Port Hawkesbury targets end of November for Granville Street bridge repairs
After about a year of construction, unexpected repairs and traffic disruptions, Port Hawkesbury is now targeting the end of November to complete work on the Granville Street bridge.
The latest update came Tuesday night from Chief Administrative Officer, Terry Doyle during the regular Town Council meeting.
For residents and motorists who have been navigating detours since the bridge closed, the update offers a clearer picture of what remains before the connection can reopen.
Unexpected deterioration added to the work
Doyle told Council that contractors have completed the initial repairs to the bridge.
However, once sections of the older timber structure were taken apart, contractors discovered deterioration in several of the supporting wooden piles that secure into the ground below; one requiring a more extensive repair.
He adds a post needed to be cut and requires a specially fabricated steel pipe component that will join the new section to the existing pile, with bolts and grout used to secure the repair and prevent water infiltration.
Doyle says it is expected to arrive at the bridge site this week.
What’s left before reopening?
Once the structural repair is finished, contractors still have several items to complete.
Additional guardrails are being installed at the Reeves Street approaches on both ends. Work also remains on bridge posts, railings, fencing and painting.
Doyle explained that the paving equipment cannot be brought onto the bridge until the structure is ready to support it.
That work will move ahead once the remaining structural repairs are complete.
Target completion timeline
Despite the additional work discovered during construction, Doyle told Council the project remains on schedule for its revised completion target.
“The projected completion date will be the end of November, and we’re still very much on track for that purpose,” he said.
Additional work completed
While motorists wait for the bridge repairs to be completed, some of the work associated with the revised traffic configuration on Reeves Street has already taken place.
Among the changes;
- New dedicated turning lanes serving the NSCC entrance, Embree Island Road and MacMaster Road;
- The south entrance of Embree Island Road at Reeves Street will remain closed, with the east end of the road becoming a turning area;
- A dedicated right-turn lane will allow motorists to travel (east) from Reeves Street onto Granville Street using the south bridge; and
- The existing right-turn slip lane leading to Granville Street via the North Bridge will remain closed.
