Repairs on the Lewin Parkway and Massey Drive on-ramp will soon start
Both projects have experienced significant delays
Two road projects in the Corner Brook area that have been delayed for a significant amount of time -- one due to supply chain issues, the other because of a need to re-examine the scope of work -- will be completed this construction season.
“It’s work that we’re glad to finally get done,” Transportation and Infrastructure Minister John Abbott told Saltwire on Thursday, March 28, of the work on the Lewin Parkway in Corner Brook and an on-ramp to the Trans-canada Highway near the entrance to Massey Drive.
LONG TIME WAITING
Repairs to the Lewin Parkway overpass at Humber Road and Main Street and the two bridges in the area have been on hold since the summer of 2022. Westbound traffic on the Lewin Parkway has been diverted through the off-ramp that leads into Riverside Drive and Humber Road ever since.
In January 2023, Complete Concrete Solutions was awarded a $1.3-million contract for the replacement of support bearings on the overpass and road surface repairs to both the bridge leading from the parkway to Humber Road and the bridge leading to the parkway from Main Street.
“You would think this was a simple fix, right?” said Abbott, adding that was not so.
'VERY SPECIFIC DESIGN'
As he’s learned from engineers, the bearings required for the overpass are very detailed.
“These bearings are really underneath the ramp where the supports and the ramp are connected,” said Abbott.
It’s a curved ramp, and because of the nature of the ramp, the bearings are a little bit different than what would normally be used.
“So, there’s a very specific design, a very specific manufacturer in the States that would manufacture those bearings,” he said.
That manufacturer has had supply chain issues that prevented it from making the bearings, but Abbot said the issues have been resolved.
“Those bearings now have arrived,” he said.
Abbott said work will start in the next week and should move along relatively quickly. He said there will be some rerouting of traffic during the construction and all the work should be completed by the end of the summer or early fall.
It’s work that he said should be in place for another 30 years.
‘DEFICIENT’ SUPPORTS
The on-ramp leading from Confederation Drive to the Trans-canada Highway at the entrance to Massey Drive has been closed since February 2023 when the department announced upgrades to the ramp.
“The problem was not the road itself but was the supporting walls around it and the supports there have now become deficient,” said Abbott.
That caused concerns about the ramp collapsing, he said, so the structure had to be redesigned to support the road.
Work had been expected to begin last spring, Abbott said, but while the design work was happening, the province and the city had discussions about the extent of what needed to be done. It was identified that the water main in the area would have to be replaced.
WATERLINE WORK
“Once we determined we had to move the waterline, that had to be designed,” said Abbott.
He explained that work would have to be done first.
“Then we can get on with our work.”
Marine Contractors has been awarded a $3.9-million contract for both the water main relocation and slope stabilization.
Abbott said the pipe for the water main has been ordered and should arrive in the next month or so. The work on the project will go into the fall with a mid- to end-of-fall completion and reopening of the ramp.
CORNER BROOK STREAM TRAIL CLOSURE
While the water main work happens, a section of the Corner Brook Stream Trail, commonly known as the Gorge Trail, will be closed.
“There’s a big piece of work that needs to be done up there. A lot of excavation,” said Brent Humphries, the executive director of the Corner Brook Stream Trail Development Corporation.
Humphries said part of that work will take place on the beginning section of the trail, just past the Crocker’s Road parking lot.
WILL BE REPLACED
“Part of that contract includes the reinstatement of the trail to accommodate the new construction,” said Humphries, who noted he’s been reassured that there is money in the contract to put the trail back in.
“I think they’re going to move, to toe that slope out considerably to accommodate the new on-ramp construction. It’ll probably end up being shifted one way or another, but it will be the same trail, basically, just located slightly differently,” said Humphries.
The stream corporation may do some finishing work on it once the contractors are finished, he added.
TRAIL ACCESS
The closure of the parking lot and early section of the trail will have an impact on access to the trail, but Humphries said the area will still be accessible to users.
“There is access up above, up towards the water treatment plant on the road that goes into Three Mile Dam,” he said.
“Once the snow is gone, we’re going to look at possibly doing some upgrades in that area to allow people clearer access. We’re going to make it easier for people to get in there.”
The trail can also be accessed from the pipeline area and Margaret Bowater’s Park.
Even with the disruptions to the trail, Humphries said the work is needed to get the ramp operational again.
“I’ll be glad to see it fixed.”