October 20, 2017
After more than 100 years of service, the old Walterdale Bridge is coming down. Major demolition work will begin this weekend with the removal of the north truss. Crews will use a crane to lift the truss and set it onto the north river berm for dismantling. This work is weather dependent.
While the City understands public interest in the bridge demolition, our first priority is safety. Due to its proximity to the north work area, the west sidewalk on the new bridge will be closed for the duration of the crane lift. Pedestrians and cyclists will detour to the west bridge lane under flagperson control. Vehicle traffic will continue to use the remaining two lanes. The crane lift is expected to take several hours. The project team has scheduled the work to take place during off-peak traffic times to minimize disruptions to pedestrian and vehicle traffic.
Major bridge demolition will be staged over the next few months, with completion anticipated for the end of 2017. After the north truss is removed, the south truss will be lifted and dismantled, followed by the centre truss. Both the south and centre trusses will be lifted onto a temporary tower on the south berm, then moved to the south shore for dismantling. Lastly, crews will remove the concrete piers from the river and bridge abutments.
The dismantled bridge steel belongs to the primary contractor, who is responsible for moving it off site to be recycled. Some portions of steel will be salvaged for repurposing in a future project.
