Calgary police hand out fines to enforce 9th Avenue bridge weight restrictions

Calgary police are starting to hand out steep fines to motorists who violate the weight restrictions on the historic Ninth Avenue S.E. bridge at Inglewood.

As a precautionary measure, trucks heavier than five tonnes (11,000 pounds) were barred from using the Elbow River crossing in January after an inspection found evidence of overstressing on the old steel structure.

Examples of vehicles that might exceed the weight limit include motorhomes, box trucks, cube vans, moving vans and vehicles pulling large trailers, the city says.

"The Ninth Avenue bridge was built 110 years ago to serve turn-of-the-century cars crossing the river," said Charmaine Buhler, the city's manager of bridge maintenance.

"But today it handles high volumes of traffic, including commercial vehicles headed into the downtown core. We are now seeing the impact of those years of heavy traffic."

Here's a breakdown of the fines that drivers of overweight vehicles will face:

• Trucks weighing 5,001 kg (5 tonnes) up to 10,000 kg (10 tonnes) will be fined $34/100 kg over the limit, plus a 15 per cent surcharge. 
• Trucks weighing 10,001 (10 tonnes) up to 15,000 kg (15 tonnes) will be fined $47/100 kg over the limit, plus a 15 per cent surcharge.

Detours advised

Drivers of overweight vehicles are asked to use the following detours to avoid the Ninth Avenue S.E. bridge.

Trucks coming from the east toward downtown can detour via two routes:

• Vehicles inbound from 17th Avenue/Blackfoot Trail S.E. are asked to detour via 26th Avenue to Dartmouth Road, 25th Avenue, northbound Macleod Trail and into downtown.
• Vehicles under 12 tonnes already on Ninth Avenue S.E. detour via Eighth Street to MacDonald Avenue to 12th Avenue and into downtown.

The outbound detour for vehicles heading east is to turn right at Fourth Street to 12th Avenue and MacDonald Avenue to Eighth Street S.E.

Temporary bridge 

The city is about to start work to erect a temporary two-lane bridge next to the steel girder crossing so traffic can still flow while a $23-million replacement is built.

Once the temporary bridge opens this summer, the five-tonne restriction will be lifted.

• Higher and wider 9th Avenue S.E. bridge design unveiled

The Seventh Street S.E. link to Ninth Avenue under the Canadian Pacific Railway bridge was blocked off Monday to make way for both the temporary bridge and construction of the new permanent crossing.

The city says a decision on whether to close this route permanently has not yet been made.

The new four-lane bridge with additional room for pedestrians is scheduled to be finished in the fall of 2020. It will be about a metre higher than the old bridge for improved flood resiliency.