With two main pedestrian routes closed and a third under construction, pedestrians in north Kitchener are starting to wonder how they’re expected to get around.
“It’s been a little awkward,” says Ted Parkinson.
“There’s no getting around the fact that there’s a lot of construction right now.”
The bridge on Margaret Avenue, north of Victoria Street, was closed last month due to concerns that it could collapse without warning.
“Once the bridge was closed, most people probably felt it wasn’t going to be open again, and that seems to be the case,” says Parkinson.
Nearby Ahrens Street is also closed, and Weber Street is currently under construction.
As a result, pedestrians looking to avoid Weber’s construction have to head to St. Leger Street – about 700 metres east of Weber --
Results of a peer review, released this week, support the original findings that the bridge is at risk of a sudden failure.
According to the review, shutting down the bridge has ‘substantially reduced the risk of sudden failure of the bridge,’ but shutting down railway traffic below the bridge is not necessary.
The next step is for a feasibility study to determine if the bridge can be repaired, or if it must be replaced.
Results of that study are expected in mid-August.
“We’re going to take the time to get this right. We have to step back and look at the reports, analyze all our options,” says Coun. Dan Glenn-Graham.
Until then, the bridge will remain closed with inspections taking place three times per week -- and some pedestrians opting to ignore the closure and take their chances on the bridge.
“If this bridge is going to collapse, and if someone is on the bridge when it collapses, they’re most certainly going to lose their life,” says Barbara Robinson, Kitchener’s director of engineering.
Built in 1959, the Margaret Avenue bridge is the only bridge of its kind in Kitchener.
A similar bridge collapsed in Quebec in 2006.
