The upgrade to the southbound bridge will include a full deck replacement and strengthening of the truss. The bridge’s north abutment will be replaced, which will increase the current underpass height restrictions and allow taller transport trucks to pass underneath.
Other work will include widening shoulders and replacing the existing railings on both sides of the bridge with crash-tested barriers. The project is designed to improve reliability for the nearly 18,000 vehicles that make the crossing daily.
The original Simon Fraser Bridge was built in 1963 and, as part of Highway 97, serves the main north-south route through Prince George. In 2009, the bridge was twinned, with the completion of an adjacent two-lane bridge bringing four-lane capacity to the crossing.
The project budget for the work is US$16.4 million. The province of British Columbia has awarded the contract to Prince George-based Ruskin Construction.
Project completion is scheduled for late 2022.
