WATCH: Walterdale Bridge arches to be floated across North Saskatchewan River

EDMONTON — As work on the new Walterdale Bridge continues, the next phase of the project is about to take shape.

Construction crews have begun work to put the 950-tonne steel arches into place.

Earlier this week, crews moved the arches to the edge of the river and onto barges. Now that they’re on the barges it will take several days to float them across the river.

“The centre section of the arch had been temporarily constructed on the south bank,” explained Ryan Teplitsky, construction project manager with the City of Edmonton.

“The central portion is now fully supported by the two barges in the river. The next step will be to navigate the barges upstream and then set the arch down on temporary steel supports.”

The City of Edmonton says the process is complex, and timing and weather conditions are key in getting the arches in place. Crews also have to work with flowing ice on the river, which they say adds risk to the operation.

“The ice flowing down the river can pose a risk to the navigation, and our contractor is continually assessing the river on site as well as several locations upstream,” Teplitsky said.

Get breaking National news

For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.

Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up

By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

Watch below: Walterdale Bridge project from the Global 1 news helicopter

Once the arches are floated into place, they will be placed on temporary platforms where they will sit until it’s time to raise them into their final position.

While significant work has been done on the bridge, the project is still one year behind schedule.

The arch float was originally supposed to happen in October. The delay has to do with the complexity of the project and a dry summer. Floating the 950-tonne arches needs a river that’s at least 2.1 metres deep. The North Saskatchewan River was low this year, so crews had to dredge it, which took time.

Watch below: Significant progress on Edmonton’s Walterdale Bridge project

The work is being livestreamed on the city’s website.

When the bridge is finished, the arches will be about 54 metres tall, which is about the same height as the High Level Bridge.

The $155 million Walterdale Bridge project is scheduled to be complete by late 2016. The old bridge will be demolished in 2017.

Watch below: Animation showing procedure that will be used raise the arches for the new bridge