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The Region of Durham is progressing with temporary and permanent replacements of the Beaver River Bridge, located on Regional Road 15 west of Highway 12, in the Township of Brock. The old bridge will be replaced with a new structure and it is scheduled to commence construction in 2026 and be completed in 2027. In the interim, a temporary bridge is scheduled to be opened to traffic in mid-November of 2024.
The Region's contractor, Elirpa Construction and Materials Ltd., mobilized to the site on July 8th. The old bridge has been removed and the temporary bridge is being assembled. Assembly and launching of the bridge will be completed early in the week of October 20th, after which the deck will be installed and the approach roadworks construction will begin.
The temporary bridge will have adequate capacity to support full traffic loads with no posted weight restriction. The bridge will be subject to vehicle weight and dimension limits as prescribed in the Highway Traffic Act (HTA) R.S.O. 1990, and its various regulations which are administered by the Ministry of Transportation, Ontario (MTO), similar to other roads in the province. The Region of Durham’s Oversize/Overweight Load Permit requirements will apply for commercial vehicles carrying a load larger or heavier than the maximum limits established in the Highway Traffic Act.
The temporary bridge has been placed with the plan to construct the north portion of the permanent bridge while traffic remains on the temporary bridge. Traffic would then be moved to the permanent bridge and the temporary bridge removed, allowing for the remainder of the permanent bridge to be constructed. As a result, subject to design feasibility and agency approvals, the expectation is that the duration of any future project road closures would be limited to short durations (days) at a time to complete certain construction items and traffic staging changes.
Given the lane shifts required until the permanent bridge is completed, a localized 40 km/h posted speed limit will be in place through the bridge site and to the east of the Highway 12 intersection. The speed limit will return to the current 60 km/h once the project has been completed in 2027.
Funding for this project is being provided by the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario.