Salmon Valley Bridge to be Replaced
MLA Mike Morris, Transportation Minister Todd Stone, and RDFFG Director Warren Wilson at bridge announcement
Prince George, B.C.- The Salmon Valley bridge on Highway 97 is going to be replaced.
Minister of Transportation, Todd Stone, made the announcement this morning, saying the replacement cost of the bridge will be about $24 million dollars. The current bridge officially opened in 1954. Stone says the new bridge will be wider, have full shoulders and a pedestrian crossing. “And it will be able to handle a lot more weight.”
“The bridge has served industry and travelers very very well” says Stone “It has accommodated a significant amount of growth in the oil and gas and forestry sectors and other industrial sectors, but the need to upgrade th is infrastructure, to be able to handle wider and heavier loads greater volume and for it to be a much safer span for all, is obviously there today.”
Stone says there is still some design work to do, and construction of the new bridge will start in 2016, with a projected completion date of the end of 2017.
There will be some other major transportation upgrades in the Prince George area. Minister Stone also announced the widening of highway 16 between Bunce Road and Blackwater Road, with improvements at both tose intersections. That work will cost $21 million dollars.
Next month, the $44 million dollar project that will see the widening of highway 97 between the Stone Creek Bridge and the new weigh scales at Red rock will get underway. That project will also increase the height clearance of the CN rail bridge over highway 97 in that section.
Comments
But you are going to keep it blue right? The blue Salmon River bridge…so many trips home from the north, seeing that bridge & knowing I was almost home, from the time I was a kid until now.
long over due, will definitely reduce the demand on healthcare resources – i.e., fewer accidents.
Excellent news!
That’s a good start.
Hopefully they will do the Parsnip bridge next.
The one that is just before the Mackenzie junction.
May take a little more engineering.
Another Fraser River crossing would be nice. I’ve heard the city long range plan was to have a bridge crossing near Malaspina. Would definitely cut down on time to the airport, but also risk losing a lot of business generating traffic going south/west. Probably the two busiest entrances to our city.
What? Not allotting enough funds to finish in one year. If this was Vancouver would be complete in six months or less.
The article fails to disclose if the new bridge will be two or four lanes. If we are planning for the future I would suggest every bridge built in B.C. should be upgraded to at least four lanes. I realize the cost would be higher than expected but to built to higher standards now will save costs in the long haul. The Stoner improvements would require the CNR to construct a new overpass to accommodate four lanes of vehicular traffic. Hopefully we will get some financial assistance from the feds.
Long over due, think it could be done faster but better late than never.
Great news! Prince George is missing out on logistics companies moving here because the access to the gas fields in Northern BC are better through Grand Prairie. With these announcements PG is now better positioned to compete for this business!
Todd Stoned… hope they leave the old bridge where its at.. Like they did in Quesnel
Wow… the lower mainland gets a brand new under utilized bridge aka the Golden Ears Bridge, worth 808 million of dollars, and we get an announcement that the 60 foot, dangerously narrow, salmon river bridge will finally be replaced.
Compare this Golden Ears Bridge picture to the Salmon River bridge picture in this story everyone. Gives you an idea of how we rate up here folks.
www. vancouversun.com/business/Golden+Ears+Bridge+losing+million+each+year/8965050/story.html
Great news! We got a lot of use out of the old one!
“Stone says the new bridge will be wider, have full shoulders and a pedestrian crossing. “And it will be able to handle a lot more weight.”
That should do the job for now! Usually, after some years, if increased traffic volume calls for it, the bridge cab be twinned when the highway is four laned.
They should replace the Wright Creek bridge while they are at it. Please don’t allow YRB to do the approach blacktop work though. Cause they suck at it.
Retired 02…. Todd only does roads… Hasn’t built one to Health Care yet
Bridge sounds only two laned. Guess they are not expecting much traffic from the North.. Would be nice if they planned it so an addition can be put on it for the future, to save costs down the road when it needs to be four laned
They should also replace the Mud River bridge. That way it will give the out of control eastbound Canada Cartage trucks a safer place to pass other loaded trucks on their way down the hill like another one did last night.
Dumbfounded: They already replaced that one years ago. Do you remember the old one? It was just fine too. That one was green. It replaced the white timber frame one that was there for years.
I get a kick out of little car drivers who hug the center line on the Salmon River bridge, while I with a wide load, put my trailer wheels within a couple of inches of the curb, trying to avoid them.
The replacing of this bridge is long overdue. However when it comes to traffic on 97 North it is conspicuous by its absence. Same for 97 South, and 16 East.
Went to Vanderhoof to-day and 16 West is one busy highway. This is where the money should be spent in the future. The West is going to **Boom** not so for the other parts of the Province.
I cannot believe two trucks can even fit on that bridge in the winter time. Long over due for sure, darn right dangerous.
Palpou, how can the west Boom without LNG? As well, that is where they spend the money. There are two passing lanes being built now and many over the last few years. I drive it regularly and it’s getting special treatment.
The West can do just fine without LNG. Remember that LNG was not on the table until Christy Clark needed it to get elected.
I presume you are aware of the money spent at Endako Mines for all the upgrades.(This mill is presently closed but will reopen). Furthermore we just completed the multi million dollar upgrade to Rio Tinto Alcan’s aluminum plant. Furthermore Red Chris Copper started producing concentrate last month, and this production will go to the Port of Stewart for export. There are many more mines in the area getting ready to go. In addition we have the container port expansion at Prince Rupert, that should produce additional jobs for that area, along with the just completed CN Rail Facilities for unloading additional coal, and possibly potash.
These are just some of the things that are already established or planned. I would not be surprised to see a new pulp mill built in the Stewart area in the future.
In any event the action is West of Prince George, Terrace will be the distribution point. If we get any LNG plants, then of course it will be just that much busier.
Time to spend some big money West of Prince George. North, East, and South are basically dead zones, without any industrial growth of any significance on the drawing board.
Can’t say that 97 South is a dead zone! Made a trip to Quesnel yesterday before noon and returned in the evening. Vehicles were bumper to bumper, especially later in the day. There are several hills without passing lanes, causing people to creep along stuck at 25km/h and some very dangerous curves (one facing a rock bluff) that need to be made safe.
They gave themselves 50 years to four lane from PG to CC, there are 40 years still left in the project, so they might as well start on one more connector that will take 50 years as well and start in fits and starts on the highway going west! That way we are all in the same boat!
There is a lot of traffic on 97 North, maybe not as much as 16 West, but still plenty. The traffic in both directions on 97 North of town tends to be a bit more spread out, except during certain times of the morning and late afternoon. Witness the number of vehicles lined up during the recent repair of the roadway adjacent to Wright Creek Bridge.
As for the Salmon R. bridge, glad to hear that it is finally going to be replaced, but good long range planning would be to make it 4 lane now, it is inevitable that it will need to be 4 lane in the future, spend the money now. Political short sightedness is endemic.
metalman.
Comments for this article are closed.