(BlackburnNews.com photo by Jeff Irwin)(BlackburnNews.com photo by Jeff Irwin)
Midwestern

Work on Chesley Bridge resumes this month

Construction work is set to resume on the Chesley Main Street Bridge later this month.

Bruce County's Director of Transportation and Environmental Services, Miguel Pelletier, said construction crews are ramping up for a targeted April 23rd start date as they put the finishing touches on the reconstructed bridge.

Pelletier said the work is expected to last until at least late June.

"They have some more work to finish the deck, finish some of the abutments, some of the street work, curbs, gutters," said Pelletier. "There's also some water pipes and things, water systems, that go in there, as well."

Pelletier said there will be lane closures at times, and potentially full closures, though the contractor is aware of the county's desire to keep the bridge open while construction work is ongoing.

"We worked with [the contractor], and advised them we'd like to avoid, as much as possible, full closures and we'll see if they can work with partial closures so that people can still move back and forth and don't have to do a huge detour," said Pelletier.

Pelletier added he remains confident any full closures would not last longer than a few days.

The Chesley Main Street Bridge was damaged beyond repair in February of 2018 during a flooding event, with the new bridge opened to traffic this past December.

Once the work is complete, the county is planning a ceremony to officially re-name the bridge in honour of former Chesley and Arran-Elderslie mayor Ron Oswald and his family.

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