The Lord Selkirk Bridge in Wallaceburg will soon re-open.
Chatham-Kent's Director of Infrastructure and Engineering, Chris Thibert, told local municipal councillors on Monday night that the bridge on McNaughton Avenue will open to traffic on Wednesday, November 13 along with one side for pedestrians. Thibert said the bridge should be painted this week and the site should be cleaned up and ready for Remembrance Day services on Monday. Welding work on the bridge deck will also continue.
Thibert also told council that the contractor will finish installing the electrical and mechanical equipment by the end of November or in early December and will be doing bridge balancing and testing if it opens and closes properly until then. During that time, touch-ups and site clean up will continue.
Wallaceburg Councillor Aaron Hall tweeted that James Street should re-open at McNaughton Avenue at the end of November or early December once site trailers and the remaining equipment are removed.
Work on the Lord Selkirk Bridge took a little longer than anticipated due to component issues and previous deficiencies. The municipality planned to salvage some bridge components, but once they were able to get a closer look, officials determined that components, such as access doors, were not reusable as they had been designed to be.
The rehabilitation project started in February and was originally expected to be done by August, but completion was bumped to October and then mid-November.
