Work on Kingston’s John Counter railway overpass continues

It’s the second-largest construction project currently underway in the city of Kingston, Ont., — the rail overpass on John Counter Boulevard next to the Via station.

Thursday was a concrete pour day. In fact, it was the third of five such days. The focus at this point is the deck of the bridge, says Rob Lambert, the city’s construction project manager.

“This pour right now, the centre span is just under 180 cubic metres of concrete that they’re doing today. The bridge itself has over 800 cubic metres for the deck and then the re-bar in the deck itself, which is all the steel that you can see today, it’s just over shy of two tons.”

2:03 Work on Kingston’s third bridge crossing continues despite Covid-19

While the provincial response to the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in business and service shut-downs, Lambert says it hasn’t taken much of a toll on the $40-million overpass project.

“Deliveries have been making it here, actually a little ahead of time — they don’t have as much traffic to contend with on the roads.

2:09 Construction starts up in Kingston

And it’s looking like the job will get done, exactly as the city wanted it to. Lambert says the project is on time and on budget.

He says they’ve been shooting to have everything open by the end of this year with the finishing touches happening in the spring of 2021.

The overpass project is a part of the $70-million rebuilding and widening of John Counter Boulevard.