Council has approved the increase in construction costs of the LO Stonehouse Pedestrian Walk Bridge in Wallaceburg.
The motion was passed Monday night in a 17-0 vote.
Original article was published on August 9, 2024.
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The LO Stonehouse Pedestrian Walk Bridge in Wallaceburg is set to re-open just in time for the town's biggest festival of the year.
A release from the Municipality of Chatham-Kent that was sent out Thursday evening said the pedestrian bridge will be open for people to walk across the Sydenham River starting at 4 p.m. on Friday, August 9 -- just in time for WAMBO, Wallaceburg's annual antique motor and boating outing.
In November 2021, Dillon Consulting recommended that the bridge be closed in the interest of public safety due to deteriorating structural components, such as stringers, bracing, floor beams, and bottom chords of the trusses.
That work began in February of this year and includes LED accent lighting on the bridge railings to light it up at night.
"I am thrilled to be able to say that the LO Stonehouse Bridge will be open for WAMBO," said Mayor Darrin Canniff. "The team in Infrastructure and Engineering Services has been working tirelessly to bring this key pedestrian bridge back into use for the people of Wallaceburg."
The bridge will be closed again briefly from Monday, August 12 at 7 a.m. until Friday, August 16 at 4 p.m. to complete paint touch-ups to the bridge's coating.
Meantime, the cost to rehabilitate the pedestrian bridge is going up, pending Chatham-Kent Council approval.
A report written by CK Manager of Engineering Brendan Falkner said the bridge repairs and inspection will cost an extra $524,000, bringing the total cost to repair and inspect the bridge to $3.2 million, if Council approves the additional money.
The project includes removing and replacing the main and lift spans, widening the lift span to make it compliant with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, rehabilitating the north and south spans, rehabilitating the mechanical and electrical components of the bridge, and installing LED accent lighting.
Falkner noted this project required additional engineering and associated costs during the construction phase to salvage two of the spans and reuse the existing piers. The project required sourcing of structural, electrical, and mechanical components that were compatible with the existing conditions to ensure that all of the components of the bridge, both new and salvaged, were brought up to current day standard, according to Falkner.
He also said the structure had more deterioration under the coating that wasn't visible when the bridge was intact and that setback required additional steel repairs to ensure the long-term life of the bridge.
There were also extra costs associated with pivoting from a crane to a barge to erect the span because the crane could not safely maneuver the new span without compromising the riverbank.
"Undertaking the rehabilitation of a moveable bridge structure with cultural heritage value, including work to salvage/rehabilitate elements of the existing bridge and source new materials to connect with the existing bridge elements, presented complexities and significant challenges during construction," wrote Falkner in his report. "This required extra work beyond the contract as awarded and which was determined to be necessary to proceed with to complete the Contract to its required scope."
The LO Stonehouse Pedestrian Bridge is one of the main pedestrian crossings over the Sydenham River in Wallaceburg. It was built in 1910 and was then converted to a pedestrian bridge in 1983. The bridge has a movable lift span to allow larger boats to pass.