Owen Sound's 10th Street Bridge reconstruction project has reached another major milestone.
Bridge girders arrived and were installed on Wednesday. A large crane was used to lift them into place across the Sydenham River.
The city advises reaching this point in the construction project should allow it to remain on schedule to have the bridge open to traffic by Christmas 2020.
In a statement, Owen Sound Mayor Ian Boddy says: “We are excited to see the bridge girders installed, it’s a positive step to completing this project on time. The 10th Street Bridge carries the highest amount of traffic through the city, and plays an important part to the local economy.”
The 10th Street Bridge closed in October 2019 for the commencement of the replacement project. It was built in 1911 and serves as the main connecting link across the Sydenham River for provincial highways 6, 10, 21 and 26.
Council approved an $8.68-million tender for the construction of the new bridge in July 2019. The entire project is expected to cost around $9.3-million when factoring in other expenses such as consulting and engineering costs, according to a past Bayshore Broadcasting report.
The project must be complete by March 31, 2021 for the city to maintain eligibility for a $3-million grant from the province's Connecting Links program.