The province is investing at least $15 million in the fast-tracked reconstruction of the Pierre Delorme bridge in St.Adolphe, Infrastructure and Transportation Minister Steve Ashton announced.
“While the Pierre Delorme Bridge closure has been a significant inconvenience for many people, especially local residents and businesses, the repair project has been progressing as quickly as possible to get the structure reopened,” said Ashton.
Since last fall, completed repairs include:
• planning and demolition of damaged portions of the bridge,
• detailed design of the repairs, and
• ground stabilization work to prevent the riverbank from moving under the bridge’s supports.
Although work on the project was temporarily halted this spring due to high water levels on the Red River, the interruption was expected and reconstruction work is expected to continue this spring once high river levels recede sufficiently. Work on the bridge over the Red River at PR 210 is expected to be completed and the bridge reopened by the end of the year.
The bridge was closed Aug. 20, 2009, after a portion of its pier support system shifted and caused part of the top span of the bridge to buckle.
“It continues to be our priority to reopen the bridge,” said Local Government Minister Ron Lemieux. “We were pleased that crews were able to minimize damage to the rest of the Pierre Delorme Bridge during the demolition phase of the project, saving both significant reconstruction time and money.”
The bridge will remain closed until the repairs are completed. Concrete barriers and detour signs remain in place. To manage increased traffic on PR 210, a signal was added at the Perimeter Highway intersection.
The latest information on road conditions and detours is available at www.manitoba.ca.
