Kitchener city councillors voted unanimously Monday to tear down the Margaret Avenue bridge and rebuild it as soon as possible – but it might be two years before the project is complete.
The bridge, located just north of Victoria Street, has been closed since late June due to structural concerns, as engineers fear it could collapse without warning.
It’s the only bridge in Kitchener with its particular, no-longer-to-code design. Five people died when a similar bridge collapsed in Quebec and 2006.
City staff recommended demolishing and rebuilding the bridge, saying any repairs – such as bolting steel plates to the top and bottom of the bridge – would still leave the possibility of total failure.
“This solution mitigates all risk associated with this bridge,” Barbara Robinson, the city’s director of engineering, told councillors Monday.
Robinson also said demolishing the bridge would be the best use of taxpayer dollars and would mean the city could stop its thrice-weekly inspections of the bridge.
Demolition of the bridge is expected to occur in early 2014, with the rebuilt bridge complete by 2015.
“We will make this happen as absolutely quickly as we can,” said Robinson.
“We can’t put up a crappy bridge. It needs to be a good bridge that will last 75 years.”
The main natural gas line to the Bridgeport neighbourhood will be affected by the demolition, but officials say they expect a solution in place by the time gas demand spikes in the winter.
Robinson said the city will make arrangements to allow pedestrians to get through the area until the new bridge is ready.
The Mei King restaurant has remained open during the construction, but owner Ying Chau says moving the business may be necessary during a prolonged closure.
“We have slowed down a lot,” she says.
“I wish the city could do more, better than right now.”
Signs alerting motorists that Mei King remains open for business have been posted, but Chau says the signs are too small.
The total project is expected to cost approximately $6 million.
