Overdue repair work finally begins on south-end Halifax bridges

Repairs on railwaybridges in south-end Halifax are finally beginning, nineyears after a cost-sharing dispute between the city and CN Rail shelved the work.

Construction on theOakland Road span is now underway. It is one of six bridges hit with weight restrictions eightyears ago while the dispute played out in court. Most traffic could still go over the bridges, but heavy vehicles like some tractor-trailers could not.

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"We have budgeted, for this fiscal year, $300,000 plus HST for this project," city spokesman Brendan Elliottsaid of the Oakland Road project.CNis carrying out the repairs and billing Halifaxfor its portion.

The cityand CN have an agreement that covers 12 railway bridges throughout the municipality.They arearchedstructures and many are close to 100 years old. They are considered structurally sound but need significant maintenance work.

Court loss

Halifax had interpreted its responsibility as only forthe surface of the road over the bridgeand the fill immediately below the paving.

But in 2014, a court decision foundthe city is responsible for the pavement and sub-surface section of the bridge, right down to the concrete arch.

"The courts ruled that we would be responsible for covering the costs of all the fill within the bridge structure," Elliott said. "The pavement, the sidewalks and ensuring all the power lines and utilities are out of the way while the work is done."

Traffic disruptions

While CN Rail is in charge of the work, the railway will be consulting with themunicipality on the timing of each project. Maintenance theQuinpool Road railwaybridge undergoes will have a significant impact on traffic.

The 12 railway spans in Halifax covered by the maintenance agreement are:

• Young Avenue, Tower Road, QuinpoolRoad, South Street, CoburgRoad, Marlborough Woods, Belmont on the Arm, Jubilee Road, Oakland Road, Prince Arthur Street, Mumford Roadand Chebucto Road.