City of Brantford Council supported a recommendation to increase the capital budget for Brant Crossing Bridge Replacement project during a Committee of the Whole, Operations meeting on Tuesday, August 6, 2024.
The Brant’s Crossing Bridge is a steel pedestrian bridge spanning over the Grand River and is located between the Lorne Bridge and the Toronto, Hamilton & Buffalo (TH&B) Crossing Bridge.
Originally constructed in 1875 for the purpose of conveying railway traffic, the crossing was replaced in 1913 with the current four-span steel truss and plate girder bridge design.
In and around 1996, the structure was converted into a pedestrian and cyclist bridge, and it’s still used to this day to connect pedestrians, cyclists and other modes of transportation over the Grand River.
Residents in the nearby Lorne Towers often use the pedestrian bridge as an alternative to the Lorne Bridge, which is primarily used for vehicles, and it provides access to the Civic Centre during Brantford Bulldogs games and other events, as well as access to Earl Haig.
“This bridge is a key connection between the community between southwest Brant and the downtown,” said Inderjit Hans, Commissioner of Public Work.
After an ice-jam event in February 2018, the bridge was temporarily closed and later reopened in December 2021 following some minor rehabilitation work.
When a Municipal Class Environmental Assessment (MCEA) was completed in May of 2022, it showed that the bridge had cultural heritage value and it was recommended that the existing superstructure be replaced and raised for future ice jam events.
“We’ll be removing the bridge and it’s dated, worn steel that does have some wear on it. We will also be increasing the height of the bridge, which will give us that resilience for any ice jams coming down the river as well,” said Jennifer Elliot, Director of Engineering Services for the City of Brantford. “So, we will be getting a new bridge, and a new steel structure that is the same style, same type of truss and patina as well. We will be having the end features, as well the concrete ramps coming up to the bridge, and we will be clearing around the edges both easterly and westerly.”
While it was initially estimated that the cost of the replacing the bridge would be around $4.4 million in 2022, the City has since retained the services of the consultant engineering firm, WSP E&I CANADA LIMITED (WSP), and between rising construction material costs and the physical labour, the budget needs to be increased by around $1.76 million, bringing the project to a total cost of $6,757,772.
As part of the heritage report included in the project, the City will also be looking to commission a commemorative art piece made out of some of the existing materials from the bridge. A $250,000 cost allowance has already been included in the $6,757,772 proposed budget.
Councillor Dan McCreary asked Elliott to expand a bit more on the plan regarding the art piece and what the $250,000 would cover.
“For the public art, we will identify an amount of the steel truss, railway ties and the rivets we can use,” said Elliott. “We’ll put out a public art call and then each artist can come back with a design proposal using the material and we would then vet that through a committee. …It [$250,000] would be a fee that does go to the artist and it is utilized for transportation of the steel to a secure facility, as well as all the manufacturing as it will require steel work and welding. It would also cover the transportation back and placing the art into the selected spot on the eastern entrance of the bridge.”
The $1.76 million budget increase (to be funded from the Canada Community Building Fund Reserve) was then approved by a vote of 9-1, noting that Mayor Kevin Davis was not present.
If the plan is approved by Council during its meeting on Tuesday, August 27, 2024, the project will go to tender in the fall, and construction should start by early 2025.
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
