Maintenance work for the Lake Chestermere Lake bridge, which is part of Highway 1A going through the town of Chestermere, began Feb. 10.
The repairs have resulted in weight restrictions being placed on the bridge by Alberta Transportation. Schools buses and emergency vehicles can still safely travel across the bridge but trucks hauling loads will be affected.
Single-unit trucks will have to reduce loads from 28 tonnes to 16 tonnes, semi-trailer trucks will be reduced from 49 tonnes to 31 tonnes, and truck train configurations have been reduced from 63 tonnes to 42 tonnes.
“We had some difficulty with the piles under the foundations and that’s what we’re repairing,” said Ralph Witten, the bridge manager for the project.
He added the needed repairs were discovered during regular inspections of the bridge.
The project involves fixing or replacing damaged tiles on two of the bridge’s foundation supports and is hoped to extend the life of the structure for several years, according to Alberta Transportation.
“(The structure) aged quicker than we thought (it would),” Witten said.
He said there shouldn’t been any delays for motorists who meet the weight restrictions and that the project should take between three and four weeks.
Signs have been placed at each end of the bridge alerting motorists of the weight restrictions.
Nancy Beasley Hosker from Alberta Transportation said due to the short time frame required for this maintenance project and because the weight restrictions impacts such a small percentage of the population, Alberta Transportation will not set up detour routes.
She said the group most affected by the weight restrictions will be truckers.
“Truckers plan their routes in advance and have access to travel advisories,” she said, adding access to the advisories will allow truckers to avoid the area.
Once repairs are completed the bridge will re-open to full legal loads for provincial highways.
