The replacement of the entire deck span of the Macdonald Bridge is on schedule to be completed by fall of 2017, according to Halifax Harbour Bridges’ (HHB) most recent update.
Workers have successfully replaced 30 of the 46 deck segments as part of the Big Lift project, HHB said Tuesday.
READ MORE: Big Lift, big impact: pedestrian and bike lanes on Macdonald Bridge to close for 18 months
Work sped up significantly in April, after it was reported in early spring that the redecking was well behind schedule. Since then, two segments have been replaced each weekend, instead of just one.
HHB says deck segment replacement should be finished by the end of the year, and the pedestrian/bike lanes should open in 2017.
Regular weekend closures are also scheduled to end at some point in the new year. Evening closures will continue five days a week, with the odd weekend closure when necessary.
Different strategy to be used for next 16 segments
The next 16 segments of the Halifax-side of the Macdonald — which are set to be replaced starting in October — span over the military dockyard, which makes replacing them more complicated.
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The old segments can no longer be taken out and new ones put in place from a barge directly below in the harbour, as the rest have been.
READ MORE: Second re-decking of its kind to start on Macdonald Bridge this weekend
Crews will instead lift old segments out with a crane and drive them down the length of the bridge, where they will then be lowered onto a barge on the Dartmouth side.
New pieces will then be lifted off the barge on the Dartmouth side and driven back down the length of the bridge by a crane, to be put in place.
Throughout the next few weeks, Big Lift crews will work to raise the bridge’s profile, finish welding between the new segments that are already in place and finish paving the Dartmouth side and main suspended span of the bridge.
It’s expected this new deck will have a lifespan of 75 years.
-With files from Cory McGraw, Global News.
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