Workers from Canadian Pacific Railway remove sections of the sidewalk next to the CPR train bridge pedestrian walkway alongside the CPR bridge in Peterborough - 10 Jan 2012 Photographer unknown.

11 January 2012

Slabs Removed for CPR Bridge Pedestrian Walkway

Peterborough Ontario - The city's Canadian Pacific Railway pedestrian bridge over the Otonabee River is being torn apart after the city discovered safety issues with the structure last month.
 
A city-hired company began removing the concrete slabs from the pedestrian walkway Monday, city planner Brian Buchardt said, adding the work should be done Wednesday.
 
"They're actually using a truck that runs on the rails," he said.
 
Workers used the truck with a crane to lift the slabs off the bridge.
 
The city closed the walkway 15 Nov 2011 for safety reasons after it discovered that sections of the walkway had detached from the railway bridge. It plans to have an engineering firm study the structure to come up with options for repairing the walkway, if it's feasible.
 
City council made last-minute changes to the city's 2012 capital budget to make $1 million available to repair the walkway bridge.
 
A competitive bid process is underway for the contract to assess the bridge, provide a preliminary design for a new walkway, and provide a cost estimate for construction.
 
The city hired Drain Bros. to remove the concrete slabs. Buchardt said the value of the contract is about $40,000.
 
The walkway was part of the construction of the railway bridge in 1916.
 
Hopefully the city will be able to continue to attach the walkway to the bridge, Buchardt said.
 
"It would be so costly to try to build another bridge across the river," he said.
 
The bridge links the Otonabee River Trail on the west side of the river to the Trans-Canada Trail in Rogers Cove park on the east side of the river. It's a popular pedestrian crossing between the downtown and East City.
 
The walkway will be closed for at least a year, utility services director Wayne Jackson has said.
 
The walkway will remain closed after the slabs are removed, Buchardt said.
 
"It continues to be fenced off until we can figure out what we can do with the bridge," he said.
 
Brendan Wedley.