Richard Froese
South Peace News

Big Lakes County plans to replace a guardrail on a bridge crossing the Swan River in Swan Valley.

At its regular meeting Sept. 25, council approved a recommendation to replace the guardrail on the bridge on Township Rd. 723 with the next bridge repair or rehabilitation project at the site.

As a safety precaution, council passed a second motion to temporarily reduce the speed limit in the area to 30 km/hr and that high-visibility reflectors be installed on the guardrail until the replacement project at the Swan River crossing is completed.

“A concern has (been) raised raised about the length of the guardrail on the bridge,” said Ben Letemplier, director of public works.”

“Administration has requested that our bridge engineer review the concerns and provide options.

“The engineer noted that the guardrail is 7.6 m long and likely no longer meets the current design standards.

The estimated cost to replace the existing guardrail is $35,000, he said.

“The assessment report recommends that the most economical solution would be to rehabilitate the existing bridge,” Letemplier told council.

It is estimated the repairs would extend the service life of the structure by 10-15 years.

The overall service life of the bridge will still be limited due to age of the timber structure.

“Since the existing structure is in poor condition, the work should be completed within the next two to three years,” the report cited.

“If the guardrail were replaced during the recommended bridge rehabilitation, there would be some cost savings realized in the mobilization costs,” Letemplier said.

Administration recommends the guardrail replacements be completed with the rehabilitation project in two to three years.

The recommended bridge rehabilitation costs are estimated at $1,250,000 and would extend the service life of the bridge by 10-15 years