Harbour Bridge Work Will Last A Few More Weeks

We will have to put up with construction delays along Harbour Bridge in Saint John for a bit longer.

This year’s phase of the multi-year rehabilitation project was supposed to be finished by this coming Friday.

But a spokesperson for the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure said that is no longer the case.

Mark Taylor said in an interview that they now expect the bridge will be open to four-lane traffic by Nov. 30.

“It all comes down to the fact that when you’re dealing with a structure of the size of the Harbour Bridge and the complexity of the Harbour Bridge, sometimes certain tasks take a bit longer than anticipated,” said Taylor.

Work has included removing certain expansion joints and replacing them with link slabs “to eliminate the ongoing maintenance issues they create.”

Other work has involved repairing concrete beams, replacing concrete blocks, deck waterproofing application and new asphalt concrete.

Traffic along Harbour Bridge has been down to one lane in each direction since the construction began in early June.

Work has been taking place on the western end of the eastbound lanes, forcing eastbound traffic to be diverted to the westbound passing lane.

The Chesley Drive eastbound off-ramp and westbound on-ramp will also remain closed until no later than Nov. 30.

“We want to make sure that we’re going to do a proper job,” said Taylor.

Work on the westbound lanes at the western end of the structure is scheduled for 2022.