By Thia James

Diefenbaker Bridge to get a $1.25M makeover

Mar 30, 2015 | 6:59 AM

The Diefenbaker Bridge’s crumbling splash guards and shaky metal guard rails will be repaired later this year, now that the province is funding the work under the Urban Highway Connector Program (UHCP).

The province will foot the bill for the full cost of the repairs to the bridge, $1.25 million. The repairs will focus on restoring the sidewalks, re-anchoring or replacing the pedestrian rails, restoring the concrete splash guards and power washing the bridge.

The most visible scars the bridge bore were the on its splash guards lining both the outer north and southbound lanes. The splash guards were deteriorating because of all of the salt and dirt hitting them, Mayor Greg Dionne said on Friday. As well, pools of water on the sidewalks along the bridge posed a challenge for pedestrians.

“It gave you the impression when you drove across the bridge that it was in disrepair and some people didn’t feel safe because it was an eyesore,” he said.

He said the City was pleased to find out the UHCP would be funding the repairs. The UHCP funds operations and maintenance for roads through urban centres that connect to highways, such as Second Avenue West, which connects Highway 2 north and south of Prince Albert.

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But the City is aiming to avoid further inconvenience to drivers during the summer months, as they will already be facing traffic tie-ups caused by another major roadwork project.

To that end, the City is looking to time the bridge repairs to coincide with the “big dig” it has planned for Second Avenue West between 15th Street West and the bridge. That roadwork project is aimed at replacing the water and sewer mains underneath the road, which are more than a century old. Crews will then replace adjacent medians and curbs.

“Now that we have the money, we’re in a rush to try to say, ‘OK, let’s do the repairs, see if we can do them at the same time so we don’t disrupt traffic for a longer period,’” Dionne said.

He said the City is considering repairing the east side of the bridge when it’s repairing the east side of Second Avenue West and then switching over to repairs on the other side of the bridge and road.

The repairs will also improve the aesthetics of the all-important northern entry point.

But the deterioration also made the City look dirty, he added. For those entering the city from the north, they see that the bridge looks tattered, he continued.

“It just did not give a professional look. And what’s exciting for me is our whole goal was when you did finally get across the street, you see the new streetscape and the new sidewalks after we dig up all the pipes, that you were going to come across the bridge and … you would go ‘wow.’”

Dionne said they’ve learned from the experience of other cities that pressure washing the bridge is the main thing that has to be done. This removes all of the salt and sand, so it doesn’t wear on the bridge all year round.

The City did this last year, and Dionne said this “kind of made the bridge look worse.”

There are, however, other cosmetic changes the City would like to address in the future.

Dionne said they feel the bridge still needs to be painted. A report said the City should have it painted every few years in order to protect it from the elements.

“So, if there’s more funding, we have more stuff in the can, ready to go.”

The City is going to keep up the polished look by pressure washing the bridge, cleaning and painting it.

There’s one more step the City must take before it can move ahead with the bridge work – council will have to approve the funding agreement with the province. The City has to sign the agreement by March 31.

In order to meet that deadline, the City has called a special council meeting for Monday afternoon, where the agreement is expected to be approved.

The special council meeting will then be followed by a special budget committee meeting to discuss the 2015 Sanitation Fund budget.

tjames@panow.com

On Twitter: @thiajames