Some major repairs will take place on two bridges in St. Albert this summer, the city says.
The bridges in question are the Perron Street and St. Albert Trail river crossings. Both bridges were built in the 1980s, and to date have only needed “moderate” repairs, city transportation manager Dean Schick said in an email.
“However, both of the structures are reaching life-cycle milestones that will involve major upgrades and more substantial repair,” Schick said.
That work will take place this summer, and according to a request for proposals recently published by the city, the workload will include complete road resurfacing; regrading; new sidewalks on and below both bridges; new handrails; new rip-rap from the trails down to the river; new retaining walls; and much more.
“Work is focused on substructure improvements, general superstructure maintenance, and on adjacent and supplemental infrastructure such, as the bridge abutments and retaining walls to address drainage and erosion control,” Schick said. There will also be work on adjacent pedestrian trail underpass structures.
Schick said the work will improve the bridges and increase their longevity.
Since the city hasn't yet contracted a company, Schick was unable to give a timeline for the work, although he said it will likely only need four months and be done in one construction season.
While a final budget for the project won't be known until the city awards a job contract to an interested construction company, the city's 2024 repair, maintain, replace (RMR) budget does include $627,500 for the ongoing bridge maintenance program.
The program, as described in a project charter included in the RMR budget, involves city engineers completing annual evaluations on all eight road bridges in the city, while pedestrian and wooden bridges are evaluated every two years.
“This is an evidence-based program that prioritizes actions from data collected [from bridge condition assessments] and incorporates [other factors] such as life-cycle expectancy,” the project charter reads. “Treating a bridge throughout its life cycle will preserve the initial investment and lower life-cycle costs compared to just rebuilding it at end of life.”
According to the charter, the city's bridge infrastructure is worth more than $53 million as of 2021.
Besides the major repairs planned for the St. Albert Trail and Perron Street bridges this summer, Schick also said the Children's Bridge near St. Albert Place will receive some maintenance work this summer, including a deck resurfacing.
“Future bridge RMR work could include the Villeneuve Road and Range Road 260 structures; however, detailed work planning and programming will be informed by continuous and completed condition assessments,” Schick said.
