County Road 2 Hoople Creek bridge rebuild starts soon

A dump truck heads over the Hoople Creek bridge on County Road 2 in South Stormont on Wednesday, May 22, 2019. The bridge will be going through a complete rebuild this summer and fall, which will result in traffic delays. (Newswatch Group/Bill Kingston)

LONG SAULT – If you drive on County Road 2 between Ingleside and Long Sault, be prepared to add extra time to your travels this summer and part of fall.

County council approved a nearly $1 million rebuild of the Hoople Creek bridge by Clearwater Structures Inc. of Ajax, Ont. at its Tuesday meeting.

The tender was the lowest of four bids at $992,928 but is over budget by roughly $13,000. However, the county has money elsewhere in the budget to use because the $1.2 million rebuild of the Crysler Bridge in North Stormont is not going ahead this year.

Transportation Director Ben de Haan told council the bridge work will take several months and the contractor is anxious to get started, possibly as early as next week.

“We’ve worked with Clearwater in the past, four or five bridge contracts and we’re always very happy with the work they do. They’re a crew that comes out, gets the job done well, and cleans up after themselves, which is very important,” de Haan said.

The bridge will be down to one lane as each side of the bridge is done, similar to what is happening on railway overpass on Brookdale Avenue in the City of Cornwall. However, these traffic signals will be motion activated — they will stay red on both sides until they sense traffic and then go through a cycle.

Cracks and pieces missing from the concrete slab show the age of the 1956 Hoople Creek bridge on County Road 2 in South Stormont on Wednesday, May 22, 2019. The bridge will be rebuilt this summer and fall at a cost of nearly $1 million. The green netting is to prevent swallows from nesting. (Newswatch Group/Bill Kingston)

It’s also a popular spot for fishing and Clearwater will have to be “accommodating to anglers” in the area as part of its contract.

De Haan told Cornwall Newswatch, the contract is on a timeline that starts as soon as the contractor is on site. The deadline is 90 working days (roughly four months) with a hard finish date of Nov. 1.

Nearby property owners who boat on Hoople Bay will still have a navigation channel during construction. They will be notified through a hand-delivered notice, de Haan explained. “There will be a full time opening that folks will be able to get through all the time.”

The Hoople Creek bridge was built in 1956 during the building of the St. Lawrence Seaway and the relocation of the former Highway 2.