The LO Stonehouse Pedestrian Walk Bridge in Wallaceburg is scheduled to reopen in time for the city’s biggest festival of the year.
A press release from the Town of Chatham-Kent sent out Thursday evening said the pedestrian bridge will be open to walkers across the Sydenham River starting at 4 p.m. Friday, August 9 — just in time for WAMBO, Wallaceburg’s annual classic car and boat ride.
In November 2021, Dillon Consulting recommended closing the bridge in the interest of public safety because structural components such as stringers, bracing, floor beams and truss bottom chords were in deteriorating condition.
This work began in February of this year and includes LED accent lighting on the bridge railings to illuminate them at night.
“I am very pleased to say that the LO Stonehouse Bridge will be open for WAMBO,” said Mayor Darrin Canniff. “The Infrastructure and Engineering Services team has worked tirelessly to restore this important pedestrian bridge to service for the people of Wallaceburg.”
From Monday, August 12th, 07:00 a.m. to Friday, August 16th, 4:00 p.m. the bridge will again be closed for a short time due to repair work on the bridge coating.
Meanwhile, costs are rising to renovate the footbridge, subject to approval by Chatham-Kent Council.
A report by CK engineering director Brendan Falkner said repairs and inspections of the bridge would cost an additional $524,000. If the city council approves the additional funds, the total cost of repairing and inspecting the bridge would be $3.2 million.
The project includes removing and replacing the main and lift bridges, widening the lift bridges to comply with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, rehabilitating the north and south bridges, refurbishing the bridge’s mechanical and electrical components, and installing LED accent lighting.
Falkner noted that this project required additional engineering services and associated costs during construction to salvage two of the bridge spans and reuse the existing piers. The project required the procurement of structural, electrical and mechanical components compatible with existing conditions to ensure that all components of the bridge, both new and salvaged, were brought up to today’s standards, Falkner said.
He also said that the structure beneath the coating showed more extensive damage that would not have been visible when the bridge was intact, and that the setback would require additional steel repairs to ensure the long-term life of the bridge.
In addition, additional costs were incurred by switching from a crane to a barge to construct the bridgehead, as the barge could not be safely maneuvered with the crane without damaging the river bank.
“The rehabilitation of a movable bridge structure with cultural value, including work to salvage/rehabilitate elements of the existing bridge and to procure new materials to connect to the existing bridge elements, presented complexities and significant challenges during the construction period,” Falkner wrote in his report. “This required additional work beyond the scope of the contract awarded and which was deemed necessary to complete the contract to the required extent.”
The LO Stonehouse Pedestrian Bridge is one of the main pedestrian crossings over the Sydenham River in Wallaceburg. It was built in 1910 and converted to a pedestrian bridge in 1983. The bridge features a movable lift bridge to allow larger boats to pass.
