The Gannon’s Narrows Bridge in Peterborough County will be closed for an estimated three weeks this spring for repairs after it was struck by a vehicle.
According to Peterborough County’s infrastructure programs manager Peter Nielsen, in December 2020 county staff discovered the bridge’s upper sway bracing and portal struts had been damaged, possibly by a truck carrying an unauthorized over-sized load across the County Road 37 bridge, which spans Buckhorn Lake and connects Ennismore with Trent Lakes, north of Peterborough.
In total eight of the nine overhead steel components were damaged. Engineers reviewing the damage recommended to county council that the repairs on the bridge be completed in the spring of 2021.
Nielsen says a structural engineer assessed the damage and determined that the bridge can remain in service without restrictions.
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On Wednesday, county council approved repairs to begin in the spring — an exact date has not been determined. The bridge, which was originally constructed in 1955 and undergone rehabilitation updates in 2005 and 2019, currently remains open to all traffic.
“Notification of the timing the closure will be issued in advance once favourable weather conditions have returned,” Nielsen.
Council approved the $190,000 in repairs to Larson Brothers Limited.
“Due to the location of damage being directly over the centreline of the bridge, it will be necessary for the bridge to be fully closed on a daily basis while repairs are completed,” Nielsen said in his report to council. “The bridge should be able to be reopened to traffic at the end of each workday.”
Peterborough County is looking for any information on the incident. Anyone with information can provide it anonymously by calling 705-775-2736 or by email.
“It would be expected that the operator of the vehicle would have been aware that their vehicle had impacted the bridge and a competent driver would have stopped to inspect the condition of their vehicle, trailer and load,” said Nielsen.
Staff completed a review of oversized load permits issued by the county for the County Road 37/Gannon’s Narrows corridor but the review has not identified any vehicles of interest.
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