January 5, 2010

Manitoba fast-tracks Pierre Delorme bridge repair plan

RICHARD GILBERT

staff writer

The province of Manitoba is fast-tracking plans to repair and reopen a bridge south of Winnipeg that partially collapsed last summer due to riverbank instability.

“We are going to repair the bridge and replace the sections that were demolished,” said Ron Weatherburn, executive director with the Manitoba Infrastructure and Transportation.

“We demolished two piers and three spans. We have issued a tender for the replacement of two piers. Next, we will tender for spans to be replaced and have the bridge up and running by November 2010.”

The Pierre Delorme Bridge in St. Adolphe was closed Aug. 21 after an inspection revealed one of its massive supporting piers had shifted, causing severe structural instability.

“There was a riverbank issue, so we have done a fair amount of work already to stabilize the bank,” said Weatherburn.

“We will also be doing more stabilization work.”

It is believed the pier started moving shortly after the spring flood, when the Red River receded.

The pier continued to sink and dropped more than three metres in 24 hours, which caused the bridge deck to buckle.

Two conventional excavators with jack hammers were used to remove the damaged piers and sections of the bridge. At that time, it wasn’t known if the bridge could be salvaged. However, crews still worked to save as much of the remaining structure as possible.

An assessment determined that the bridge didn’t need to be reconstructed, as well as what piers and deck span sections needed to be replaced.

Weatherburn said the tender for the first phase is out and is due to close in January.

The contractor will start work immediately on the first phase, which involves the construction of two piers.

“The second phase is for the construction of the spans and the deck,” he said. “In the fast track process, we are tendering the first phase, while the second phase is still being designed. We want this up as soon as possible.”

Weatherburn said it is still not known how much the work will cost, but, he said, it will be in the millions.

As a result of the collapse, the bridge was closed. Motorists, boaters and the general public are not allowed to travel on, walk on or boat under the bridge.

Town residents and other motorists have been forced to use an alternate route which takes them dozens of kilometres out of their way.

Given this situation, officials with the Rural Municipality of Ritchot asked the provincial government to build an ice road to speed up access to the community in the winter.

At the site of the bridge, there was a winter crossing in the 1970’s and some dirt sections of the historical ice road infrastructure are still in place.

“The community asked for an ice bridge, but there are safety issues and the province decided not to proceed,” said Weatherburn.

These safety concerns were related to changing river levels, which cause ice near the shoreline to weaken or open altogether during the winter.

Another possible reason for the rejection of the proposal is a general movement away from ice roads and limited infrastructure resources.

The Pierre Delorme Bridge carries major traffic across the Red River and connects two major north-south routes.

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