Federal economic stimulus money will be flowing onto a couple of bridges spanning the Ottawa River.
Yesterday, Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon and John Baird, minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, announced the Alexandra Bridge and the Chaudiere Crossing would be among four bridges receiving upgrades from a $42-million fund announced in the last federal budget.
“We obviously want to see that we don’t just do the day-to-day and year-to-year maintenance, but that we are here for the long term to make sure the integrity is maintained for the future,” said Baird.
It is still unclear how the money will be divided between Ottawa’s two National Capital Region bridges as well as the Burlington Canal Lift Bridge and the Lasalle Causeway Bridge in Kingston.
It’s also unclear what type of work will be done.
“We’re going to be looking at different mid-term and long-term options,” said Pierre Vaillancourt, regional director of professional and technical services with public works. “Mainly it’s going to be the replacement of some of the steel structure components including the concrete deck and installing new damping mechanisms to minimize vibrations on the bridge.”
Public Works just finished spending $800,000 to repair the Chaudière Crossing and there is work already started on the Alexandra Bridge.
According to Cannon, the projects are expected to create 100 new construction jobs in the area.
