Removal of bent girders set to close busy Groat Road again
Busy Groat Road will be closed for another two weekends as bent girders are removed for analysis.
The girders crumpled without warning March 16 as they were being installed on the 102nd Ave. bridge project. The cause is being investigated.
Three of the steel beams must be repaired or replaced. A fourth will have to be removed to gain access to the damaged girders.
Byron Nicholson, director of special projects, roads design and construction with the city, said Thursday the completion date of the bridge has been pushed back to summer 2016. The original projected completion date was October this year.
“We know that this is a big deal, the contractor knows it’s a big deal to get this bridge opened up as soon as they can,” Nicholson said. “We just want to keep moving forward safely.”
The three damaged girders will be returned to a local manufacturer. Engineers will decide if they need to be repaired or replaced. The analysis of the girders should be completed within a few months. Repairs may involve straightening the girders and the addition of new material, and would take one to three weeks.
“The city will not accept any loss of integrity of the girders,” Nicholson said.
The girders and abutments, he said, should be installed and completed before the end of the construction season in October. A substantial part of the bridge’s deck should be built as well before the temperature hits freezing, but he said it’s hard to predict because of Alberta’s weather.
Beginning at 7:30 p.m. Friday and continuing until 6 a.m. Monday, Groat Road will be closed to traffic between 107th Ave. and River Valley Road while two of the girders are removed.
The road will close again at 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 8, until 6 a.m. Monday, May 11, while the remaining two girders are removed. All four girders can’t be removed in one weekend because of wind concerns and time constraints.
A parking ban will be in place along the east side of 116th St. between 100th Ave. and Jasper Ave. both weekends. During the weekend of May 8 to 11, parking will be banned on 109th St. between 99th Ave. and 102nd Ave.
There will be no access to the multi-use path along Groat Road during the two closures. Nicholson said that motorists can expect more road closures when the girders are reinstalled.