Contract Awarded for Bridge Replacement

TRANSPORTATION/PUBLIC WORKS--Contract Awarded for Bridge Replacement

Travellers along Seaview Drive in Cape Breton Regional Municipality will be sailing over Leitches Creek on a new bridge starting this September. A contract for the concrete bridge has been awarded to Port Hood-based J&T Van Zutphen Construction Inc.

"It's good news for drivers in the community and in Cape Breton," said Ron Russell, Minister of Transportation and Public Works. "This is just another sign of our investments in Cape Breton and in our bridge infrastructure."

A panel bridge has been used by motorists across Leitches Creek since 2001 when the railroad bridge was taken out of service. The new bridge is expected to be completed by Sept. 30.

About $9 million will be spent on steel truss bridges this year, part of a five-year, $50-million program to replace about 66 structures across the province.

The bridge will cost $864,000 to replace.

Overall, the department will spend $34.5 million on its bridges this year.

The Department of Transportation and Public Works highways division manages more than 23,000 kilometres of roads in Nova Scotia. It maintains an inventory of 4,100 bridges and operates seven provincial ferries. Staff provide services from district offices in Bridgewater, Bedford, Truro and Sydney.

Government spent $88.5 million on major road and bridge construction projects in Cape Breton over the last five years. Cape Breton's share of the provincial capital highway expenditures increased by more than five per cent during the same time period.