KENTVILLE, N.S. — There will be two bridges over the Cornwallis River in Kentville temporarily this summer.
The Town of Kentville is hoping for only a small amount of disruption to traffic as construction on a new bridge takes off this spring.
The town’s chief administrative officer Mark Phillips says this is why the current bridge will remain in use and will not be decommissioned until after the new bridge is completed and fully operational.
He says construction drivers have seen this winter and fall was primarily focused on the relocation of communication and power utility infrastructure, which has since been completed.
“It was a fairly lengthy process because of, quite frankly, how complicated it all is. The communications piece, really, where the time and challenge was,” he says.
Phillips says the proximity of hub buildings like the Valley Regional Hospital meant the project was slowly completed to ensure no disruption to communications services.
Nova Scotia Power oversaw the power utility work, while a combination of service providers worked on the communication systems.
Phillips says this phase of construction was under Town of Kentville jurisdiction and had to be completed before bridge work could begin.
The bridge is owned and managed by the provincial government, which has awarded the project tender to Dexter Construction for the building of the new bridge.
A Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal message says the project is expected to cost $5.5 million.
“Work is set to begin on the new bridge this summer with the completion anticipated for the fall,” the statement reads.
“The existing bridge will be used until that time.”
