Flooding has caused delays on the Durham Street Bridge project.
Bruce County Director of Transportation and Environmental Services Adam Stanley shared with council this week that due to recent weather, work on the bridge has been delayed.
The Durham Street Bridge, which is located in downtown Walkerton, was closed to traffic on March 17th due to flooding on the centre span of the construction platform, and was re-opened on March 19th.
In his report, Stanley explained, “As a result, the platform sustained damage, due to the debris mostly. The damage has led to an interim hold on construction activities, requiring the platform’s use.”
A combination of warm temperatures, and the melt of a substantial snow pack led to high water levels in the Saugeen River.
In December 2024, the project team had recognized that flooding could impact the construction platform, and had prepared a flood mitigation procedure. At the time, it was recommended that the centre span of the bridge remain in place to allow for half-joint repairs in January, February, and March. During work, the west platform and the east platform were both removed to lessen potential flooding impact, while the centre platform was left in place.
Stanley says that crews have been continuously monitoring the bridge.
“The structural engineering team is working with the contractor to address the safety issues with the platform before resuming work.”
He said that once all of the information is available, staff will bring back an updated construction schedule for council at a future meeting.
