Margaret Avenue bridge update (from City of Kitchener)

KITCHENER – Staff awarded the contract for the Margaret Avenue bridge demolition on Wednesday to Bel-Air Excavating and Grading Ltd. out of Cambridge. On Sept. 9, council authorized staff to award the contract to have the bridge removed to keep this project moving forward in a timely manner.

The work is expected to start the week of Oct. 21, 2013 and be completed by early December. Access will be provided to businesses in the area and rail service will not be impacted. The total price before HST is $347K for the demolition and $95K for the temporary gas main support. The main is the primary feed to the Bridgeport area and needs to be in place to avoid natural gas outages in Bridgeport over the winter.

Staff has begun to develop the request for proposals (RFP) to get a new bridge design and will be providing a report to council on Oct. 21, 2013 with the proposed schedule. Staff is working hard to find ways to get the new bridge in place as quickly as possible.

We are also looking for ways to improve pedestrian, bicycle and traffic flow in the area. We recognize it’s a challenge for residents and businesses and will attempt to find the best interim solutions.