The City of Edmonton announced Friday that crews would start work to take down the old Walterdale Bridge on the weekend.
The bridge has stood in the river valley for more than a century – and crews will start demolishing the bridge by removing the north truss over the weekend.
Crews are expected to lift the truss and set it on the north river berm for dismantling.
“Essentially, a large crane grabs on to it, lifts it up, we think that lifts going to take two to four hours, before its turned, twisted and set down on the berm below,” Ryan Teplitsky with the City of Edmonton said.
Due to its proximity to the work area, the city said the west sidewalk of the new bridge will be closed while crews lift and remove the truss – pedestrians and cyclists will detour to the west lane on the bridge, which will be under flagperson control, while motorists will drive on the other two lanes. The sidewalk will be closed at 9 a.m. Saturday.
Work is expected to take several hours – but officials have scheduled the work to take place during off-peak traffic times.
Over the coming months, crews will continue to dismantle the bridge. The bridge is expected to be demolished by the end of 2017.
After the north truss is removed, crews will remove the south truss, followed by the centre truss and then the concrete piers.
The City said the steel belongs to the primary bridge contractor, and they are responsible for removal of the material, some is expected to be salvaged and repurposed, the rest will be recycled.
The city said the public will be consulted on ways to commemorate the 103-year-old bridge.
With files from David Ewasuk
