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Work begins to widen Whitehorse's Robert Campbell Bridge

Construction to widen Whitehorse's Robert Campbell Bridge for cyclists begins Monday.

$1.7M project expected to be done by September

The Robert Campbell bridge across the Yukon River links downtown Whitehorse with the neighbourhood of Riverdale. (Google Street View)

Construction to widen Whitehorse's Robert Campbell Bridge for cyclists begins Monday.

The City of Whitehorse says work will be adjusted to avoid affecting traffic as much as possible.

The bridge over the Yukon River is the only route into the Riverdale subdivision and traffic there slows to a crawl during rush hour.

"The contractor is fully aware of the traffic condition," said Wayne Tuck, Whitehorse's manager of engineering services. 

"We don't want to interrupt the 20 minutes worth of congestion in the morning, so they'll be working around the traffic as necessary."

Currently, the bridge walkway is too narrow for cyclists to pass pedestrians. The city received a grant from the Build Canada fund to build the walkway a metre wider on each side of the bridge to add bike lanes.

The connection between the Millennium Trail and the Robert Service Way Trail will also be improved.

If all goes as planned, the $1.7-million project will be complete in September.