Commuters will need to plan ahead as a major bridge in Wallaceburg is set to close for at least six months starting next week.
The Lord Selkirk Bridge will be completely closed for renovations starting February 4 and the municipality doesn't expect it to reopen until August. According to Chris Thibert, director of engineering and transportation for Chatham-Kent, it is a major renovation and not a total replacement.
"There are a lot of components of the existing bridge that are still salvageable and reusable," Thibert said. "It is a pretty substantial rehabilitation project that will shut down the bridge to both pedestrian and vehicular traffic for the duration of the project."
Thibert said detours for heavy truck traffic will continue to use the Base Line Bridge and local traffic can use all the other roads and bridges. He added there will be temporary traffic lights installed at Murray Street and Reaume Avenue.
"That was something recommended to account for the increased traffic that is going to probably occur on Murray Street," Thibert said.
He said the municipality is anticipating marine traffic, but boats requiring the bridge to lift will be unable to pass until around June when one leaf will be operational.
Thibert said the project will cost a total of $5.3 million which was budgeted for in 2018. He added because the route is shared with the province, the ministry of transportation is funding roughly $3 million of the project.
Thibert said the bridge was assessed three years ago and it was determined that substantial work had to be done. He acknowledged the bridge is a vital link for Wallaceburg residents and hopes commuters will have patience during the rehabilitation process.
"The reason we are starting so early is to accommodate the WAMBO event which is in August," Thibert said. "Our goal is to ensure that not only the navigation for marine traffic will be accommodated but also our goal is also to have the bridge operational for both pedestrian and vehicle traffic as well."