TCH bridge could be due for more maintenance in 2021

Work to rehabilitate and resurface the southern span of the Trans-Canada Highway bridges in Medicine Hat could be underway in 2021, according to documents from Alberta Transportation.

Last month the ministry began accepting proposals from a short list of engineering firms for scope and cost estimates to determine whether girders require strengthening and whether it should be resurfaced with concrete when the deck is replaced.

An initial timeline in the bid package states Oct. 31, 2021 as a tentative completion date.

The planned renovation is tentatively to appear in the ministry’s work plan for that year, officials said on Monday, but a final go-ahead and budget will be determined after the winning firm’s evaluation.

That bridge was built in 1980 and since 2008 has only been subject to routine maintenance.

It saw heavy use from 2011 to 2015 when it accommodated four lanes of traffic in both directions as the other span, comprising westbound lanes, was demolished and replaced in a process delayed by the contractor entering receivership and then reorganizing.

The scope of new work would also include pedestrian crossing, approach paving, guard rail renovation

The preliminary engineering work from the winning firm is due by mid-March 2020, about 16 months from now.