Hwy. 83 bridge over Shell River expected to open in December
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The Highway 83 bridge over the Shell River near Inglis is expected to reopen to traffic in December.
A new foundation and abutment for the bridge is being constructed and crews will rebuild the riverbank and roadway approaches, the province said in a news release on Thursday.
The December timeline depends upon weather conditions and construction progress.
The Highway 83 bridge across the Shell River was closed due "significant embankment failure." (Supplied)
Riding Mountain West Reeve Grant Boryskavich said the news is welcome.
“Right now, we got roughly 350 vehicles taking a detour through our municipality on gravel roads,” he said. “So the sooner they could have it opened, the better.”
While an official detour is in place via Provincial Road 482 through Shellmouth and Dropmore, a significant number of drivers are rerouting down about 10 miles of dirt road near Inglis to save time, Boryskavich said.
The municipality deploys a grader more than three times a week to smooth out the road, which is morphing into “washboard” due to high traffic, he said.
“We were trying to plan for, ‘What are we going to do on this road for the winter time? How are we going to sign it? How many accidents are going to happen?’” he said.
“We’ve had that talk with (emergency management) and our fire departments and people that live along that way. So if they could have it open in December, that would sure help.
“It would sure make life easier in this part of the world for everybody.”
Boryskavich gave kudos to the team that has worked “really, really hard” to repair the bridge. He said the municipality has been watching and has taken note of many 16-hour days at the site.
The bridge was closed following significant damage caused by flooding in the area in June.
Engineering assessments have been completed at the site, temporary steel supports were installed, and demolition of the damaged south abutment took place this year.
» cmcdowell@brandonsun.com