Still no new closure timeline for Centennial Bridge
DTI says staff will meet with city to discuss new closure plan
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Nine months after a full closure of the Centennial Bridge was delayed to this year, if and when the bridge will be shut down in 2024 remains unclear.
Department of Transportation and Infrastructure spokesperson Tyler McLean said there’s still no new closure timeline in place for the Centennial Bridge, which has been undergoing a major rehabilitation project for more than a decade.
“DTI plans to meet with the City of Miramichi to review a closure plan,” McLean said in an emailed statement.
“Residents will be advised on the confirmed closure plans once they are finalized with the city.”
The Centennial was scheduled to be closed in May 2023, but that shutdown was delayed due to “a variety of factors,” according to DTI. The bridge was built in 1967 and carries traffic on Routes 8 and 11, linking several Miramichi neighbourhoods and the province’s north and south.
Since 2012, the bridge has been undergoing a $120-million overhaul being cost-shared by the provincial and federal governments. Work on the 57-year-old span over the Miramichi River has included painting and revamping the steel superstructure, improving foundation elements, relocating utilities, replacing bearings, and reinforcing the piers.
The bridge is eventually supposed to close so a new deck and sidewalk can be installed, but the closure timeline has seen repeated delays in recent years.
The project’s page on the DTI website currently lists the deck replacement on the north side and part of the sidewalk replacement as work planned for 2024, followed by replacing the deck on the arch span and finishing the sidewalk replacement in 2025. The south-side deck replacement was supposed to take place last year.
“The timeline will be updated as the project phases progress through to the expected targeted completion date of late 2025,” the website states.
“During various project phases, the bridge will have overnight, single lane and full closures. A detour route will be in place during these times.”
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