City prepares for construction on Fredericton's Bill Thorpe Walking Bridge

City crews are preparing for the closure of Fredericton's Bill Thorpe Walking Bridge next month.

Greg McCann, a project engineer for the city, said the closure will take place around Sept. 16, after Fredericton's Harvest Jazz & Blues Festival. 

"It will be in and around there," he said in an interview with Information Morning Fredericton.

McCann said scaffolding sites have already been set up along the bridge, while other areas have been flagged off for compressors.

"Electrical and telecommunications that run through the bridge will also be taken off to permit construction," he said.

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The St. John River landmark is scheduled for $3.9 million worth of work this fall through early January.

Just like new

The $3.9-million bill will be split equally by the federal government, province and city. The original railway ties are starting to deteriorate, so the entire deck and ties will need to be stripped away.

The city will install modular pieces of concrete tied with steel railings and a wood deck on top of it. 

"Everything is going to be made off site," McCann said. 

The bridge is expected to look much the way it looks now but with metal railings that are spaced out, so people will be able to see through them to the river. 

More road construction 

Summer road work is still underway across the city.

The largest construction project is a roundabout next to the Victoria Health Centre on Brunswick Street west of Smythe Street.

"Travelling through the site, it's fairly congested and there's lots going on," McCann said. "So a key thing there is just take your time to get through. We are still letting traffic through the site but it is very busy."

Work at the city's new traffic circle also includes replacing underground infrastructure, such as water, sewer and storm lines.

"When everything underground is updated we're going to install a roundabout on top of that," he said.

The project is expected to be completed by Oct. 15.

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"It's kind of keyed in on paving," McCann said. "Past that date the temperatures aren't very dependable for paving."

Meanwhile, portions of both Smythe Street and Wilsey Road are still closed, so the city can replace water and sewer lines and do resurfacing work. 

With school starting in the next few weeks, city crews plan to contact the Anglophone West School District to provide an update on the construction projects. That way, bus drivers will be able to adjust their routes and pickup locations.