$48-million rehabilitation of Groat Road, bridges set to begin this spring

Expect major congestion along Groat Road starting this spring as city officials prepare to launch a multi-year, three-bridge renewal project.

“Everything has a shelf life,” Sam El Mohtar, director of transportation infrastructure delivery for the City of Edmonton, said Tuesday.

The $48-million project involves completely demolishing the deck of the Groat Road Bridge over the North Saskatchewan River — one side at a time — to rebuild on the existing piers and extend the life of a key commuter connection. The bridge was built in 1955 and last rehabilitated in 1989-90.

Workers will also rehabilitate the Mayfair Bridge over Groat Road near Emily Murphy Park south of the river in 2018. Graham Construction, the contractor, will also tackle the Groat Road Bridge over Victoria Park Road in 2019.

The project is expected to be complete in 2020.

The entire road surface from 87 Avenue to north of the river is also being renewed, but the road is not being realigned.

Officials backed away from plans to reconfigure the Groat RoadVictoria Park Drive interchange because of the cost and limited improvement to traffic safety and commuter accessibility, said El Mohtar.

During construction, crews will keep one lane of Groat Road open in each direction. A sidewalk will also be maintained, but will only be 1.7-metre-wide. Cyclists will be asked to dismount.

The east-west pathways on the north and south shores of the river will sometimes be closed.

Once construction is over, life should be easier for non-motorized commuters. The shared-use path on the east side of the bridge will expand to 4.2 metres wide from the existing 2.4 metres. That path gets crowded, especially during festivals.

Groat Road Bridge is a major commuter link between downtown and the University of Alberta. The four-lane bridge handled roughly 37,000 vehicles a day in 2015, the last traffic map available online.

“I just thought: ‘Oh great, here we go again,’” said Tracey Anderson, one of many people who use

the road frequently. She lives just north of the bridge, which means detouring to busy 109 Street or west to 149 Street if Groat Road gets too congested.

She just hopes this bridge project doesn’t suffer the same fate as the Walterdale Bridge or 102 Avenue Bridge over Groat Road. Too many city projects have run into delays, she said, saying the construction news gave her a sick feeling.

Ward 6 Coun. Scott McKeen said he expects many calls to his office as construction advances. But no one wants to follow Montreal and have bridges crumbling, he said.

“I look forward to the day when all the construction is done,” he added, wistfully. “But with a rapidly growing city, we still have to do these projects. We have to maintain the infrastructure.”

World Triathlon organizer Sheila O’Kelly said the event will reroute races to the university area, especially since the city promised to stop construction for the event.

However, the clock is ticking. The 2020 ITU World Triathlon grand final is scheduled for the third week in August on the Groat Road Bridge, she said. “Hopefully, we will have a nice new bridge by then.”

City officials are hold in gap reconstructionopen house from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday at the Mayfair Golf Club.