(Photo: Courtesy of Ritchie Boyd)
Construction of the new bridge over the Petitcodiac River linking Moncton and Riverview is on time and on budget so far according to officials with the New Brunswick Department of Transportation.
Modern Construction is the main contractor on-site which is actually the same company that helped build the causeway in the 1960s.
Department of Transportation assistant director of operations Michael Pauley says the work has been broken down into phases.
“We’ve started excavating the lower part where the new channel is going to enter under the new bridge – we call that Zone 5 and that’s almost complete. Right now they are moving on to Zone 6, which is the detour that drivers were using during the bridge construction and they are starting to excavate that.”
Pauley says the contractor has two shifts to work with the tides since excavation is only possible during low tide.
He notes how the causeway gates will play a key role in the project.
“Those gates will drop and they will be there permanently and at that time, it will force the water under the new bridge to take its new course.”
Construction began in earnest after the causeway closed to traffic on April 5.
The new bridge over the Petitcodiac River is expected to open in October.
