STRAIT AREA: A well-used, well known piece of transportation infrastructure is receiving upgrades.
Currently, Allsteel Coatings Limited is conducting repairs to the approach of the Canso Canal swing bridge at the Canso Causeway.
Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal director of communication Peter McLaughlin said there are five employees on site, plus traffic control. He said this phase is different from previous repairs.
“The repairs are focused on the abutments and protecting the joints and bridge surface from damage when the bridge swings,” McLaughlin told The Reporter.
Stop and go traffic control is in place from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and to date, McLaughlin said delays have been minimal for motorists, “and we expect that to continue.”
McLaughlin said the DTIR’s goal, weather, permitting, is to finish work in early April.
Another factor in this timeline is the global novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
“… We are not anticipating delays as part of the provincial COIVID response,” McLaughlin noted. “Construction sites are exempt from gathering limits provided they are adhering to proper social distancing directives.”
Under the Nova Scotia Government’s state of emergency declaration, people cannot gather in social groups larger than five. Those deemed essential and exempt from gathering limits include construction sites.
McLaughlin noted that in the absence of invoices, the DTIR does not have an estimate of the cost of the project, but he added that no further work is planned on the swing bridge.