Norris Whitney Bridge (File photo: Michael J. Brethour)
The Norris Whitney Bridge, linking Belleville and Prince Edward County, will undergo rehabilitation work this year, but motorists will still be able to make it across the Bay of Quinte.
Construction on the bridge is expected to begin this fall, with most of the work during the day with both lanes open.
Project manager Chris Belanger, of the provincial Ministry of Transportation, says the bridge is more than 30 years old and needs some upkeep.
Belanger says there will be a number of night-time single lane closures and two 12-hour full closures, which will occur overnight in the fall of 2018.
One other full closure, just for 15 minutes, will occur when workers lift the ends of the bridge, allowing them to remove the bearings.
Belanger says it’s called bridge-jacking. The bridge is actually jacked up a few centimetres at each end.
He says the MTO is already planning for a more complete overhaul of the bridge in about ten years from now.
Work on the Norris Whitney has been coordinated with Parks Canada’s project to replace the Murray Canal Bridge and the work to rehabilitate the Skyway Bridge.
