Officials at the District of Kitimat have postponed the Haisla Bridge’s overnight closure until Sept. 30, yet the overall bridge replacement is still on track for year’s end completion.
Previously scheduled for Sept. 23, the closure is necessary for the dismantling of the first of two trusses from the now-defunct old Haisla Bridge that runs parallel to the new structure.
Alex Ramos-Espinoza, the district’s director of engineering, pointed to potable water pipes as the cause of the setback. “The waterline serving the service center currently resides on the existing bridge. Relocating it to the new structure and completing the bypass connection took longer than anticipated,” he said.
On the rescheduled date of Sept. 30, vehicle traffic will be limited to a single-alternating lane from 7 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. This will give crews the space needed to elevate the truss from its piers and prepare for a lateral shift to the new bridge. From 7:30 p.m. to 3:30 a.m., the bridge will be closed to all traffic, including pedestrians and cyclists, as workers position the truss on the new bridge for transport to a demolition site on Station Road.
A similar procedure is scheduled for the removal of the second truss on Oct. 14, with the same times and restrictions.
Flyers sent to residents and businesses with the original Sept. 23 closure are outdated.
Engineers considered the idea of driving the trusses directly off the old bridge, but the space constraints required considerable staging areas at both ends of the crossing, escalating both the cost and time needed. Lowering the trusses to the riverbed raised too many ecological concerns.
Rio Tinto and LNG Canada are collaborating with the district to align their work shifts with the closures.
A walkway just wide enough to accommodate a vehicle will be available to first responders if needed.
For the general public, however, there will be no vehicle access whatsoever, but there will be some leniency for pedestrians.
“We understand someone might get stuck on one side — they haven’t seen the notices and they’re unaware of the closure,” Ramos-Espinoza said. “In that case, if it’s urgent, we’ll have someone there to escort them across and they can come back in the morning to collect their vehicle.”
Alternately, the only way across the Kitimat River is a forest service road accessible only to off-road vehicles that snakes its way to Onion Lake.
“People will be taking that route at their own risk,” Ramos-Espinoza said. “We’re not recommending it.”
Meanwhile, paving of the new bridge is expected to be completed this week, which will cut back on the intermittent delays during the day. The need for single-lane alternating traffic will continue from 7 p.m. to 4:30 a.m.until the last demolition block of Oct. 15.
All construction work on the new bridge is expected to wrap up in December, but minimal disruptions might still be necessary after the holidays.
“By the end of the year we should be at a stage when the project is essentially complete, but we might come back next year to do some landscaping,” Ramos-Espinoza said.