Brandon Sun - PRINT EDITION
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Traffic, two-wheeled and four-wheeled, rumbles over the First Street Bridge on Monday afternoon. One Brandon resident has raised concerns about the condition of the structure, including the rusty guard rails and crumbling concrete.
The First Street bridge looks like a disaster waiting to happen, says one concerned citizen who walks across the bridge daily.
Vehicles are seen on the First Street bridge on Monday afternoon. Manitoba Infrastructure and Transportation says while there are no safety concerns about the bridge, the structure is in need of work. (COLIN CORNEAU/BRANDON SUN)
Vehicles travel over the First Street bridge on Monday. The condition of the structure, including rusted guard rails and crumbling concrete, worries Brandonite Wally Sawchuk, who walks across the bridge regularly. (COLIN CORNEAU/BRANDON SUN)
"When big trucks drive past you, the whole bridge shakes," said Wally Sawchuk. "The railings are rusted beyond belief."
Sawchuk’s concern is that the guard rails may not do the job they are designed to do, should an accident occur.
"If a van hit the rail, it looks like some portions of that bridge would not hold," he said. "You’re going right on the railroad tracks. A disaster could happen."
Ruth Eden, director of structures, design and construction with Manitoba Infrastructure and Transportation stressed that there are no safety concerns, but admits the bridge is in need of work.
"We’re inspecting it on a frequent basis, so it is safe," Eden said. "We don’t want the public to think that our bridges aren’t safe."
As for the shaking, Eden said "it’s not unusual for a bridge to vibrate like that."
"If they actually looked under the bridge, it’s a steel girder … instead of concrete," she said. "Those bridges tend to vibrate or move more than bridges where we have concrete girders."
Maintenance is done on the railings as required.
"The bridge is in our five-year plan for major upgrades," Eden said.
The plan for First Street bridge, which Eden believes was built in the 1960s, includes re-doing the deck and replacing the railing entirely.
"(We’ll be) looking at the girders … what we need to do to them and any of the concrete under the bridge too, so we go in and re-do the bridge to get another 40 years out of it," Eden said.
MIT has plans to work on the bridge Thursday to apply a micro-surfacing seal.
"We’re basically placing a thin layer of asphalt on the deck of the bridge," Eden said. "It’s a means of protecting the bridge. If you drive over it … it is really bumpy. It doesn’t ride very well. We have a lot of deck patches … and this is basically to protect the bridge, but also to make it a much better ride for the public."
Meanwhile, the southbound approach on the 18th Street Thompson Bridge will also be worked on later this month.
"We’re going to be filling that area that’s low," Eden said. "We’re going to be filling it in with asphalt because the earth or the dirt underneath is still settling."
» jaustin@brandonsun.com
Republished from the Brandon Sun print edition August 28, 2012
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The First Street bridge looks like a disaster waiting to happen, says one concerned citizen who walks across the bridge daily.
"When big trucks drive past you, the whole bridge shakes," said Wally Sawchuk. "The railings are rusted beyond belief."
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The First Street bridge looks like a disaster waiting to happen, says one concerned citizen who walks across the bridge daily.
"When big trucks drive past you, the whole bridge shakes," said Wally Sawchuk. "The railings are rusted beyond belief."
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