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Despite industry-wide construction delays, the City of Hamilton says the bridge and road replacement, with new storm sewers, water mains, retaining walls and slope stability improvements on Highway 8 from Bond Street to Woodley’s Lane remains on schedule.

As originally reported in January 2021, the entire project was scheduled to take approximately 20 months and substantially completed by Nov. 25. The road is anticipated to be reopened in December.

Among the challenges was the need for two full construction seasons to remove the existing bridge and then build a new bridge, due to limited periods where work can take place in Spencer Creek.

The first phase of the project, east of Woodley's Lane, was completed ahead of schedule before the end of April 2021.

“Despite industrywide delays, city crews are still on track to complete work by late November,” spokesperson Emily Trotta said.

Engineering services project manager Jeff Rowen provided a list of work completed as of July 13, and remaining to be done over the next four and a half months.

Work completed between April 2021 and July 13

i)Old bridge — portions removed as per Hamilton Conservation Area (HCA) direction

ii)New bridge — construction of footings, abutments and wingwall, installed girders, new deck and parapet walls, sidewalks

iii)Reinforced soil slope wall — extension of south west wing wall is installed

iv)South retaining wall — completed (except railing)

v)North retaining wall — installed piles, timber lagging, anchors drilled, stud connector

vi)Storm sewer — mainline sewer and manholes completed, some catch basin installed, installed oil grit separator and constructed plunge pool

vii)Water main — approximately 400 metres of 300-mm diameter water main installed, 40 metres horizontal directional drilled, water main completed

viii)Road — all hard surface removed, roughly 170 metres of section completed breakout, placed granular backfill and new curb and gutter

Work to be completed between July and November 2022

i)New bridge — complete water main hanger system, construct approach slabs, install expansion joint, asphalt paving

ii)Reinforced soil slope wall — construct wall cap and new parapet wall

iii)South retaining wall — install railing

iv)North retaining wall — complete concrete wall and install railing

v)Storm sewer — compete catch basin and connect to mainline sewer

vi)Water main — complete roughly 80 metres of water main (dependent on completion of bridge hanger system)

vii)Road — roughly 350 metres of road requires breakout, granular backfill, place curb and gutter, sidewalk (east side of bridge only), asphalt paving (length is roughly 500 metres), pavement markings, tree plantings and restorations

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