SOUTH STORMONT – No sooner than drivers in the township got relief with the opening of Avonmore Road bridge, another overpass will be closed for at least five months.
The County Road 12 bridge (Wales Road) replacement starts tomorrow (June 13) and is scheduled to be closed until sometime in November.
Traffic will be detoured via County Road 29 and County Road 35 (Moulinette Road).
The county has met with the Ministry of Transportation several times on this project, which is the second half of a two-bridge contract by Cruickshank Construction. Cruickshank did the Avonmore Road overpass that was plagued with delays.
County council put itself on record in December 2017 that it didn’t want the Wales Road overpass started if it couldn’t be completed within this construction year.
In an email to Cornwall Newswatch, Ministry of Transportation (MTO) spokesman Brandy Duhaime says they worked with the contractor on a “secure plan” and have also met with the county to “ensure them that our contractor will be able to complete the Wales Road bridge this year.”
Duhaime added that the contractor has “guaranteed” enhancements on this project, including the fabrication of girders (which support the bridge deck) ahead of time that will be delivered when needed. There will also be a specialized bridge crew and “additional resources” put toward the project to “ensure the new bridge is open in 2018.”
Those additional resources would likely come from Coco Group, which bought Cruickshank Construction this month.
The MTO says it will continue to provide oversight on the work to meet the deadlines.
Highway 401 overnight shutdown Saturday
The first part of the bridge replacement will be taking down the old structure. That will require a 10-hour nighttime closure of Highway 401 this weekend.
The eastbound lanes of Highway 401 from Dickenson Drive to Moulinette Road will be closed from 10 p.m. Saturday until 4 a.m. Sunday. The westbound lanes will be closed from Moulinette Road to Dickenson Drive from 10 p.m. Saturday until 8 a.m. Sunday.
