Harbour Bridge lanes to reopen by month's end

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Harbour Bridge is set to have all its lanes open by the end of the month, marking an end to the third construction season of a multi-phase rehabilitation project.

“With paving now complete on the Saint John Harbour Bridge, line painting and site cleanup will be ongoing over the next two weeks, with plans to reopen the bridge to all lanes by Nov. 30,” said Department of Transportation and Infrastructure spokesperson Tyler McLean in an email on Tuesday.

It’s an earlier finish than last year, when construction on the bridge didn’t wrap until mid-December.

This year’s work involved “deck rehabilitation and installation of new waterproofing and asphalt wearing surface” on the bridge’s middle section, according to information previously provided by the department.

“Phase 1 work was substantially completed earlier this fall, while work on Phase 2 is anticipated to be completed by the end of November. Phase 3 was also started this year,” McLean said.

Motorists can enjoy the respite from lane closures until next April, “when the bridge will be reduced again to two lanes … until late November,” McLean said.

The project, which began in 2021, won’t reach completion until 2026.

Costs for the project were initially set at $26.4 million, though the department said earlier this year that figure had spiked to $31.3 million. In February, an additional $7.3 million from the federal government as well as $7.7 million from the province was announced for the project.

With files from Brunswick News Archive