After a year of waiting, residents can now access Lessard Bridge.
As of today at noon, the MD of Bonnyville has reopened the bridge to traffic.
“Early last April, with the Beaver River ice going out, the volume of water coming down the river, and the large chunks of ice, took out the middle support pillar of the bridge, and that made the bridge go out of service,” explained acting director of transportation and utilities for the MD Matt Janz. “Since then, it’s been a pain for residents on the north side of the river to come to Bonnyville. They have had to make large detours in the past year to go around."
The project wrapped up ahead of schedule and at a cost of just over $500,000.
According to Janz, it was getting the approvals that took so long.
“It was a slow process. I don’t think people realize the process for environmental approvals. They always take that amount of time, either six to eight months, and then work has to be done in the winter season in order to get the crane on the ice and to build the ice bridge. There were some challenges,” he said.
Janz added, "You have to work with two groups and make sure the bridge standards meet all of the specs. That’s why we hired an engineering group that deals with bridges."
One of their biggest hurdles was keeping residents off the bridge.
“Right at the start, we had everything barricaded off and we hoped people wouldn’t use it. They were moving our barricades out of the area. Then we installed cement blocks at the entrances, which people were pulling off with their vehicles and then using the bridge,” stated Janz. “In the end, we had to install a large steel gate that was welded in place that couldn’t be moved.”
Janz said he can understand why residents were getting impatient.
“It impacted the people living on the north side of the bridge, and it also impacted the people living on the south side, because in order to go to Cold Lake, you have to take more rural roads to get there, whereas before, you would take the bridge and down Hwy. 55."
At this point, the MD hasn't received any grants for the project, but have applied for some provincial funding and are waiting for approval.
