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Niska Bridge removal makes way for new bridge to start construction this summer (8 photos)

The city will use some segments of the bridge in future projects

Over the course of the weekend, the Niska Road bridge spanning the Speed River will have been moved and dismantled by army reservists, paving way for its eventual replacement.

Preparations began earlier in the week to have the Bailey bridge jacked up and ready to be pulled on to the road on the west bank of the river, said Capt. Sergio Suarez Diaz, public relations for the 31 Combat Engineer Regiment. 

A ‘nose’ and ‘tail’ were connected to the bridge to aid in its removal, said Suarez Diaz. Weight was added to the western end of the bridge to act as a cantilever as it was pulled off.

Most of the removal was completed Saturday and the breaking down of the 8 segments of the bridge continues Sunday.

Bailey bridges were originally created for use during the Second World War by Allied forces. Suarez Diaz brought historical photos of the construction of a Bailey bridge during the war — work that was mainly done by hand.

Not only were the bridges created to be erected easily, said Suarez Diaz, but also to be broken down into its smaller segments.

“Originally, they were designed to be temporary, or at least over 20 years or so,” he said.

 The rusted bolts in the bridge have complicated the process of breaking it down into its segments, said Suarez Diaz.

“This bridge was built in 1974. Obviously, with the traffic and the salt and the regular use it became an issue to be taken apart,” said Suarez Diaz.

The bridge was only supposed to be in operation for one year, said Scott Stewart, Guelph’s deputy CAO of Infrastructure, Development and Enterprise Services.

“It’s been here ever since,” said Stewart.

After the work of breaking the bridge down has been completed, the city will retain four of the eight segments for possible use in a future project, said Stewart.

“It might end up as a small mini bridge, or it might just be something beside the trail as a commemorative piece,” he said.

The other four segments will go to the 31 Combat Engineer Regiment for training exercises.

“What we do is called dry training, so we take it to a parking lot and put it together for a weekend exercise to make sure we know what we are doing,” said Suarez Diaz.

In 2014, the regiment participated in the removal of a much larger Bailey bridge near London, Ont. 

Last year, the regiment put its training into practice when it participated in the building of a temporary bridge in Laval, Que. to restore access to Île-Verte after high water closed the roadway.

“That was one of the most enjoyable opportunities that we got to work on for the community and for Canada as a whole,” said Suarez Diaz.

The Bailey bridge replaced a previous bridge that was built in 1920 and collapsed in 1974.

Over 4,000 vehicles passed over the bridge in the month before it was closed just over one year ago because of safety concerns.

Stewart said construction of a new bridge will begin in August, with completion of the project expected sometime in 2019.


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Kenneth Armstrong

About the Author: Kenneth Armstrong

Kenneth Armstrong is a news reporter and photojournalist who regularly covers municipal government, business and politics and photographs events, sports and features.
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