The major job of replacing the Main Street bridge in Corner brook has begun.
On the southeast side of the bridge Monday, Marine Contractors began digging up the parking lot to prepare for the realignment of an existing water main.
A crew from CanGro Services Limited was busy removing brush from the southwest side of the existing bridge to make room for the new bridge.
Brook Construction is the main contractor for the bridge project, which is expected to take about another year to complete.
Other work to soon be done includes driving piles for the temporary abutments and retaining wall.
As a result of this work and due to safety concerns, pedestrian traffic will be restricted and the sidewalk will soon be closed on the south side of the bridge. The pedestrian bridge crossing Bell’s Brook near the former city hall and an adjacent section of walking trail will also be closed.
These changes are expected to last for the duration of the project, which will be into late 2018.
The new bridge will be four lanes wide and will have an extra one metre of clearance for the Corner Brook Stream than the existing one has.
The majority of the work will begin in the spring and will require traffic to be detoured from Main Street to the Lewin Parkway via Mill Road and the Broadway/Herald Avenue connections.
