Masonry work the next step in bridge replacement

Crews from Lancoa Construction work on removing the top two layers of the masonry piers that supported Kinsmen Bridge. These piers will have a new top layer, new grouting and be part of the new bridge. (Jeff Helsdon Photo).

Jeff Helsdon, Editor

With the deck from the former Kinsmen bridge over Participark gone, crews have been concentrating on repairs to the masonry piers that will support the new bridge.

The bridge was part of the Great Western Railway, connecting Tillsonburg to Brantford, and was built in 1888. When the rail lines were removed, it was converted into a pedestrian bridge that connected the downtown to residential areas on the west side of town. The bridge was slated for revitalization as part of the town’s 2025 capital projects, following its identification as needing replacement several years ago.

The new structure will be a modern steel girder bridge, but will still use the masonry piers from the original bridge for support.

Crews from Lancoa Contracting have removed the bridge platform and the steel towers that supported it. Over the next few weeks, they will be removing the top two layers on the piers, which bear the weight of the steel girders. These will be replaced with new cement platforms.

The grouting in between the stones will also be removed and replaced to make the structure more water-tight.

The cement work will continue into December, with the goal of completing it before cold weather arrives.

“In that time, the bridge is being manufactured by Algonquin Bridges and then delivered in sections in December,” said Leo Ferreira, the town’s manager of engineering.

He said the majority of the work is expected to be completed in January, with the bridge reopening by the end of January. Restoration of the trail below the bridge in Participark won’t take place until warmer weather in the spring.

This is later than the original planned date of having the bridge open by the end of the year. Still, Ferreira said finalizing the design drawings of the bridge to allow manufacturing to start took longer than expected.

A big piece of history will remain

Although the old bridge is gone, council opted to keep one of the metal towers that supports it as a piece of history. The original concept proposed was that several pieces of one of the towers could be incorporated into the Bridge Street reimaging or placed along Veteran’s Memorial Parkway.

“The idea was do we cut this up to and they give us the pieces we are looking for, or do we keep it intact,” Ferriera said. “If we keep it intact, where do we put it.”

A report on the subject was before council on Sept. 22. In his report, Ferriera said as the demolition proceeded, it was found one entire intact tower could be removed, instead of just pieces.

He asked council to decide if the tower would be cut up and moved to the public works yard for storage and then used in the future along Bridge Street or kept intact as a monument to the town’s history. Council opted to keep the tower intact with it either being on display in Participark or adjacent to Veteran’s Memorial Walkway.

The scrap metal value from the tower, estimated at about $10,000, which Lancoa had incorporated into its bid, will be added to the project cost.