Bridge work in Victoria’s Inner Harbour will become more visible during the next few weeks as crews install large concrete sections of the new Johnson Street Bridge.
The large concrete sections arrived by barge this week and will be installed by the same large barge and crane, the Arctic Tuk, that performed the removal of the rail span in 2012.
In order to accommodate the work, the marine channel under the Johnston Street Bridge will be closed to all marine traffic from Monday, Sept. 14 to Friday, Sept. 18. The closure includes all vessels – industrial, commercial, and smaller boats such as sailboats, canoes and kayaks.
From 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Sept. 14, the bridge will also be closed to all pedestrians, cyclists and vehicles to allow a final piece of the rail span to be removed and a section of the new bridge installed in its place. The work must be completed during the highest tide of the day in order to allow equipment to get as close to the work site as possible.
Traffic control will be in place as crews complete the work, however, travellers can expect the bridge to be closed up to one hour and are advised to plan alternate routes during this time. Periodic traffic delays are also expected throughout the week as some short-term bridge lifts may be required to accommodate the work.
Once in place, the concrete spans will form the road approaches to the new steel structure, set to arrive in the summer of 2016. The new bridge will open in the summer of 2017.