City parks crews have started the repair work necessary to get a pedestrian bridge in Nose Creek Park open again, according to Kevin Brinson, Parks Operation team lead with the City of Airdrie.
The bridge is located near the off-leash dog park in Nose Creek Park. Brinson said the bridge was closed in the spring after it suffered some significant damage during the spring runoff.
“With the amount of snow that we had, the bridge took a major hit in terms of (its) undermining. (It) moved the bridge a little bit and warped things underneath, and washed out all the stability of it so it wasn’t safe,” Brinson said.
Airdrie and area received 26 mm of snow between Dec. 1 and Dec. 10, 2013.
Brinson said the Parks department boarded up the bridge for safety reasons and has been working with Alberta Environment to develop a plan to repair it.
“We’re trying to meet all the standards that they have,” he explained. “The plan is now with them. We’ve drawn up an area plan and they’re just reviewing it to make sure we’re meeting all the standards.”
According to Brinson, Alberta Environment is involved because the bridge is over Nose Creek and it’s important to preserve the existing habitat.
Work on the bridge repair started on Oct. 2.
“We removed the bridge and have it sitting on the bank and we’re going to do the cosmetic repairs to the bridge itself, including staining and the fixing of some of the rails,” Brinson said. “However, the plans are still under review with Alberta Environment and we won’t be able to touch (the banks) until roughly the end of the month.”
The change of the seasons shouldn’t pose too much of a problem for staff, according to Brinson, as they should be able to complete the work before the ground freezes.
The cost to repair the bridge is being covered by the Parks Department operating budget. Brinson said they originally planned to have an independent company do the work but have instead decided to complete it themselves.
“We’re doing it in house ourselves, but I don’t have an actual budget dollar amount,” he said. “It will be considerably lower than the $150,000 (that was budgeted for a contractor).”
Residents are asked to stay away from the bridge as the repair work is being completed.
