The Otonabee River railway bridge - Date/Photographer unknown.

2 November 2012

Engineers Still Reviewing Whether Railway Bridge can Support Pedestrian Bridge Replacement

Peterborough Ontario - Canadian Pacific Railway engineers are making sure the railway bridge over the Otonabee River can support the city's planned new pedestrian bridge, a city official says.
 
"They just want to make doubly sure that what's being proposed won't compromise their structure," urban design planner Brian Buchardt said.
 
The city's anxious to start construction of the pedestrian path that will replace the platform it tore off the CPR bridge in January. The city closed the popular walkway between East City and downtown about a year ago when the structure started to shift, making it unsafe.
 
In July, city council approved creating a $2.5-million budget to rebuild the pedestrian path that's connected to the railway bridge that's just south of the No Frills grocery store at the south end of downtown.
 
Council made the bridge a priority, delaying other projects to make the money available to do the work this year.
 
The city hired Sanchez Engineering Inc. for $148,890 plus tax for the design and construction administration for the project.
 
The new trail would be three metres wide with lighting. Instead of being directly attached to the platform with the railway track, the trail would be on a new structure that's supported by the existing piers, which would be modified.
 
The CPR engineers are reviewing the details around how the new trail would be supported by the railway bridge piers, Buchardt explained.
 
"That shouldn't take much longer," he said. "In a perfect world, I would have liked to have been a month ahead of where we are now."
 
Once CPR approves the plan, the city will begin the competitive bid process for the contract to build the trail, Buchardt said.
 
"It can happen over the winter and we should be ready to have the trail open in the spring," he said.
 
Brendan Wedley.