Salmon River Bridge Project Going to Tender
Prince George, B.C. – The $24 million dollar project to replace the Salmon River Bridge north of Prince George is expected to start this fall, and the Province has just put the project to tender.
“We expect to award a contract shortly thereafter and get that bridge replaced” says Minister of Transportation Todd Stone.
The new bridge will be wider, have a longer span, have a sidewalk for pedestrians, and a pedestrian underpass at either end to accommodate those who like to recreate on the river during the summer.
The project was first announced last July, and is expected to be complete by late 2017.
The Salmon Valley Heritage Society has been asking that the existing blue bridge, ( first built in 1954) be honoured in some way. Minister Todd Stone says staff have been working with area residents to see what might be done “I certainly am very well aware that locals have expressed a very deep and passionate with, and an affinity for, the existing blue bridge, so while the existing blue bridge will not be formally , in any structural manner, incorporated into the new design, staff is looking at are their parts of the existing bridge or certain aspects of the existing bridge that could be retained in some manner. Some have asked for the new bridge, if possible, to be blue, itself and I don’t think that’s going to be possible, except for perhaps for looking at things like the railing, or the underbelly or something. We certainly want to respect peoples desire to hold on to the heritage value and the memories that people have of the existing blue bridge and those discussions are underway. We certainly have an open mind.”
The Salmon River Bridge is one of three major transportation projects in the Prince George area.
Construction of the $44 million dollar widening of Highway 97 from Stone Creek to Red Rock continues ” That project is on schedule, we haven’t encountered any significant challenges there, so we’re on schedule to have that completed as originally planned” says Minister Stone.
Then there’s the widening of Highway 16 between Blackwater Road and Bunce Road, a project that is estimated to cost $21 million. The project will see 3.4 lane kilometers 4 laned. “We are just finalizing the design ” says Minister Stone, “The utility moves are going to be complex, but we will get them done, through this year. We expect to actually go out to tender on that project in November-December of this year and construction would start at the beginning of the construction season in 2017 and that project will likely span most of 2017 into 2018.”
Comments
Too bad it couldn’t be used for the new Willowcale Bridge.
Completed by the end of 2017? If that is the proposed completion date do not allow any of the bridge builders that are currently building bridges in and around Edmonton to submit a tender, it takes them a minimum of 3-4 years to complete a bridge. The Alaska Highway was built faster than those guys can build a bridge 500 yards across a river.
West Twin Bridge was less than two years once awarded
The Vedder River bridge project starts in Sept 2016 and be completed by Oct 2017. dont thinks it takes 3 to 4 years to build a bridge.
It doesn’t and shouldn’t take 3-4 years to build a bridge, but that is what is happening in Edmonton, the bridge over the N. Saskatchewan river on the North East leg of the Henday started in 2012 and just opened. The 102 ave bridge construction in Edmonton began in July 2014 and is still unfinished and may not even be done this year, and it is only 100 m long!
Gee, a YouTube video shows the Chinese routinely building bridges (rail in this case) with fully automated equipment in less than 48 hours over pre-built concrete pillars! Amazing to watch! Years? They do it in hours!
I suspect that the Central Committee must have very strict standards, rules and expectations to be met!
Get CN to build it, they can rebuild a burnt down bridge in less than 3 weeks.
That CN bridge was actually built by Formula Contractors, a pile and bridge company based right here out of PG.
Still hard to believe that the bridge will not be 4 lanes.
Should do it now. It will cost much more in the future when it may have to be done.
metalman.
Something wrong with this story re the Stone Creek and the Bunce to Blackburn projects costs. If anyone has driven by the Stone Creek project and noticed all the heavy work going on there, and compare it to the other project…I think someone has left out a few bucks in the cost.
Ataloss. ..could you verify this for me as I am trying to get used to this internet thingy
I agree metal an the bridge should be 4 lanes.
Most cities the size of P.G. have 4 lanes extending way beyond the city limits. This is a first impression visitors get. I guess we will have to wait another 20 years for 4 lanes to Beaverley.
The money always trickles north.
Use the old Salmon Valley bridge to replace the bailey bridge across
the Willow River. That would solve the problem for Willow River, and if the residents of Salmon Valley get nostalgic over the loss of their bridge they can drive to Willow River and look at it.
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