The City of Nanaimo anticipates the Bastion St. Bridge will re-open on July 16, more than two weeks later than expected. (City of Nanaimo)
bridge closure

Bastion St. Bridge work delayed, City now expects mid July re-opening

Jul 3, 2019 | 9:43 AM

NANAIMO — A key link to and from downtown Nanaimo will be closed longer than expected as crews continue refurbishing the Bastion St. Bridge.

The City expects the bridge will be closed to vehicle traffic until July 16, as opposed to June 28 as earlier expected.

The link is also closed to pedestrians on Wednesday and Thursday of this week.

Marcus van Syl, the City’s construction project manager, said the depth of the bridge deck was shallower than records from the 1970’s indicated.

“Instead of being able to mill the top of the deck with a large machine the contractor had to change to a labour-intensive methodology, which was slower,” van Syl said.

The remainder of the project remains on schedule.

Reinforcing the Bastion St. Bridge involves replacing the bridge deck, seismic improvements and additional wayfinding signage.

City staff anticipated the significant maintenance and rehabilitation work would extend the life of the Bastion St. Bridge by another 20 to 30 years.

It was originally built in 1936 and retrofitted in 1978.

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