There’s been a lot of water under that bridge. So much so, in fact, it’s time for the bridge to be replaced.
The District of North Vancouver is preparing to disassemble Montroyal Boulevard bridge over Mosquito Creek and replace it with a new one.
“The existing structure is 60 years old and made out of wood,” said Steve Ono, the district’s manager of engineering services. “It’s getting older, getting on and getting towards the end of its useful life, so because of that we have to now renew it.”
The new bridge, which should be complete by summer 2018, will be wider, although with the same number of lanes, plus 1.5-metre painted bike lanes on both sides. And, unlike the existing bridge, it will also feature sidewalks on both sides, much wider and more comfortable for walking, Ono said. Also absent in the replacement bridge will be the support columns that affect creek flow below.
Starting next week, crews will begin building a temporary span just to the north of the existing bridge.
“We want to keep the traffic moving so the first step in this one is for a detour to be built alongside the bridge to be replaced,” Ono said. “We haven’t got a whole lot of alternative east-west routes nearby.”
Also, during the 18 months of construction, trail runners, hikers and dog walkers who use the Mosquito Creek Trail will have to find a new route.
“We’ll close it off a fair ways further down so people don’t wind up walking all the way up there and then coming to a dead end,” Ono said. “We’ll minimize it as much as we can but we’ll have to get the contractor’s exact schedule to see how often or how long it will be closed for.”
The district has a bridge maintenance program that involves annual inspections and outside bridge expert consultants being brought in every five years. The Montroyal Bridge was next on the list following completion of the new Keith Road Bridge over Lynn Creek.
The $8.5-million cost is covered through the district’s asset management program, meaning the money has already been set aside in previous budgets.
