Souris bridge replacement to cost $5.5M

The Souris bridge replacement project will cost about $5.5 million over two years, say Department of Transportation officials.

Details about the project will be releasedat a public information session Wednesday night.

The first phase of the project involves building a temporary bridge going into Souris.

"The whole thing will involve from the start some environmental controls. So we are going to erect a temporary bridge structure which will include two lanes for traffic and a 5-foot or 1.5-metre-wide sidewalk area," said Darrell Evans, assistant director of capital projects for the Department of Transportation.

"Once that is complete and operational, we would then dismantle the existing bridge piecemeal and start erecting new steel piers with concrete caps. We will then erect the concrete girders and pour the concrete deck and new concrete traffic barriers."

The temporary bridge will start to go up this August.

The work on the permanent replacement will take place over the fall and winter, with completion scheduled for July of 2015.