MONTAGUE, P.E.I. - Neil Lawless was surprised when he inspected underneath the Head of Montague Bridge located on the Queens Road.
“I was shocked,” said the bridge engineer for Prince Edward Island’s Department of Transportation, Infrastructure and Energy.
Lawless showed slides depicting significant corrosion to concrete under the bridge vital to the structure during Wednesday’s public information session in Montague.
The concrete under the bridge is not today’s concrete. Lawless said it is a combination of sandstone and rock.
The province of Prince Edward Island held the information session at the Cavendish Farms Wellness Centre to discuss the replacement of the bridge.
The old bridge is going to be taken out and a new structure will be created, Lawless said.
“What we are going to put in is a pipe culvert. We are going to have one pipe at the Head of Montague site.”
Water will be guided through the culvert and is designed to allow fish passage.
Work will begin on Sept. 4 with a projected end date of Oct. 5, Lawless said.
“We want to minimize the effect this will have on the harvesting season.”
He stressed the word minimize because the effect on the harvesting season can’t be eliminated completely.
There will be a detour set up, which will include the Dalmaney, South Montague and County Line roads.
“If you were to do the full loop it’s 6.5 km, the net effect is about 4.5 km,” he said.
Emergency services, school boards and buses, which utilize the route, were all notified in mid-July, Lawless said. Before construction begins the same notification will be sent out to RCMP, Island Waste Management and Island EMS.
