All lanes flowing on Saint John Harbour Bridge, 1 closure to go before project complete

The last of the lane closures will occur this spring on the Saint John Harbour Bridge, says Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Chuck Chiasson.

And for now, construction work on the 56-year-old bridge is paused for the winter months, meaning traffic is flowing in all four lanes again — the first time since April.

"There's a little bit of deck work left to do, and it's basically replacing the top coat and the waterproofing, and so there's some of that left to do, and that should be completed next year," said Chiasson.

The four-phase rehabilitation project on the bridge started in 2021 and was expected to be done in 2026. However, the timeline has recently been extended to 2027. 

Still, Chiasson said, after the next lane closure from spring to fall, the rest of the work will be done underneath the bridge and will not require lane closures.

With a project this big, Chiasson said, there are things that come up that require an extended time line

"You always find things that are unexpected … extra work that needs to be done," he said. "That type of thing can always throw off your timeline."

The initial price tag on the project was also significantly less than it is now. Originally at $26 million, the estimated cost is now $61 million.

This didn't come as a surprise to Chiasson, he said, comparing the bridge project to those happening throughout New Brunswick.

"If you look at the courthouse in downtown Fredericton, it was originally estimated to be just a little over $60 million and it's going to be completed at around $120 million," said Chiasson.

"Costs throughout the pandemic, and since the pandemic, have been escalating, you know, at a very rapid pace. 

"Hopefully, that will calm down soon, because it is getting, you know, tougher to predict just how much these projects come in at."