Fredericton drivers cope with bridge closure

Fredericton drivers withstood the first afternoon rush-hour with access to only one of the capital city's two downtown bridges on Monday.

The Princess Margaret Bridge was closed at 2 p.m. on Monday for a five-week construction project, leaving commuters with only the Westmorland Street Bridge to cross the St. John River.

The traffic snarls were kept to a minimum on Monday afternoon as the immediate congestion was not as bad as had been feared.

But Wayne Knorr, the city's communication manager, said the bridge closure's full impact has yet to be seen.

"We're at the first week in July, immediately following a holiday," Knorr said.

"So we may very well expect that traffic was going to be a little lighter because of vacation and that kind of stuff. It's not over yet for sure."

As of 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday, a view of the city's traffic webcams showed traffic was busy but moving steadily across the Westmorland Bridge.

The Princess Margaret Bridge is set to reopen on Aug. 8, until that time the city is urging people to find a different way to cross the St. John River.

Alternate routes

Knorr said he hopes people take advantage of the city's new Park and Ride and Park and Go facilities.

On the first day of the bridge closure, Knorr said he's been hearing that more people are finding other routes to get across the river.

"Anecdotally, traffic was higher than normal on trails. We saw a lot more bikes parked behind city hall," he said.

"The bike park here in the downtown had a lot of bikes in it.  We're being told that the park and go sites are being well used."

The provincial government is spending $78-million to overhaul the Princess Margaret Bridge, the 1,098-metre span that crosses the St. John River.

The Princess Margaret Bridge sees an average of 20,000 vehicles each day that it is open.

Traffic is now re-routed to the Westmorland Street Bridge, which already handles about 50,000 vehicles daily.

The provincial and city governments have already said some staff will be able to start work earlier or later in the day to cut down on the amount of traffic crossing the bridge in peak times.

Rogue drivers

The bridge closure has been in the works for months and it took a coordinated effort to shut down traffic and set up all of the signs to re-route vehicles.

Transportation teams worked throughout Monday, setting up diversions and replacing road signs.

For the most part, the closure went as planned until two rogue drivers decided to drive around road blocks.

Denis Lachapelle, the project manager with the Department of Transportation, said one driver even made it across the bridge.

"I just want to stress that the signs are up for a purpose. And it's going to be even more paramount in the future when we start removing portions of the deck," Lachapelle said.

"There is no bridge to cross the river. People should remember that".