EDMONTON- Some of the trails in the Edmonton river valley will be closed beginning Monday morning, as crews begin pre-construction for the new Walterdale Bridge.
Crews began clearing trees on both sides of the North Saskatchewan River on Thursday, in order to make way for construction of access roads that will be used during the bridge construction, which is set to begin in April.
In order to ensure the safety of pedestrians and cyclists, the city will close some of the trails near the current bridge. The lower portion of Queen Elizabeth Park, the gravel path in the lower portion of Kinsmen Park and the area around the EPCOR generating station will be affected.
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“We just want to make sure that people are kept safe and don’t get into a construction area,” said Byron Nicholson, Director of Special Projects, Roads Design and Construction at the City of Edmonton.
Trails will remain closed until construction is completed in late 2015. A trail detour will be in place for pedestrians and cyclists.
“It’s required because of the amount of construction on both the north and the south side of the trails,” Nicholson said, “The detour is just a little ways away and that’s just to give the contractor the room that they need to get the work done.”
Signs will be posted to help pedestrians and cyclists navigate the detours.
See the map of the affected trails below:
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