Historic River Canard Bridge To Get A Makeover This Summer

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An historic bridge in Essex County is set to get a makeover this summer.

The bridge at County Road 8 over River Canard is known as a concrete “tied arch” or “bowstring” bridge. This bridge is the only remaining structure of this type from an original inventory of four on the County Road Network.

These features have defined this structure as a candidate Heritage Bridge under the Ontario Heritage Act.

The bridge was originally constructed in 1937 with a span of 36m and underwent a major structural rehabilitation in 2001 which included the replacement of the bridge deck and reinforced floor beams.

Since 2001, several minor rehabilitations have been undertaken to repair the concrete elements and replace areas of the bridge coatings. All these efforts have been made to preserve the structure and extend its service life.

Work planned for this year includes jack hammer concrete removal and concrete build out with steel reinforcement on the 22 vertical supports. This work requires repetitive staging to ensure the arch is adequately supported. The underside of the deck requires sand blasting of steel members and industrial paint application. There are approximately 20 locations under the deck that require jack hammer removal of delaminated concrete and construction with new concrete.

Front Construction won the tender process for a total amount of $495,221.24.

Approval goes to county council on Wednesday.

Once construction begins it is expected to last three months.