When it first opened in 1963, the Simon Fraser Bridge that connects the Highway 97 corridor through Prince George was two lanes wide.
In 2009 it was twinned to become a four-lane bridge.
But for anyone who has made that crossing over the Fraser River will attest, for the past 20 months, ever since the Ministry of Transport began a $20.5 million project to replace the bridge deck and replace and strengthen the north truss, bridge traffic has been squeezed to two lanes only.
Originally slated for a fall 2022 completion, motorists have had to contend with the narrow bridge for a full year longer than anticipated because the main contractor, Ruskin Construction, was unable to obtain deck panels due to supply-chain issues.
Ever since January 2022, motorists wanting to access the bridge's southbound lane from Ferry Avenue or Queensway have had to follow a detour that takes them several blocks away from the highway.
That long wait will come to an end when the four-lane bridge reopens in the next few months.
"Based on the current construction schedule provided to the ministry by the contractor, the completion date for the project remains fall 2023,” said ministry spokesperson Murray Sinclair, in an email to the Citizen. “The project remains on budget.
“The Simon Fraser Bridge, which serves 18,000 passenger and commercial vehicles daily, is critical to the families, workers and businesses that drive the region’s economy.”
The project will also result in a higher height restriction to allow transport trucks to pass under the bridge as they travel along Ferry Avenue and Queensway.
On the bridge, motorists can expect widened shoulders and new railings on both sides with crash-tested bridge barriers.
-- with files from Citizen staff
