Staff
As part of its five-year rehabilitation plan for the Noden Causeway, the Ministry of Transportation is planning to continue with Phase II of the work in the near future.
MTO regional director Larry Lambert said in an e-mail Friday that tenders recently closed for the first major underwater repair contract in relation to the overall project, and that the next phase of the causeway rehabilitation will continue soon.
The repair will utilize a unique polymer collaring system that will encapsulate about 200 piles on the west low level structure.
“None of the work being carried out this summer will affect traffic; it is all at or below water,” noted Lambert.
This underwater work should be done later this fall.
It represents somewhat of a change from last summer and fall, which saw speed reductions and alternating one-lane traffic due to the nature of the work being done on the causeway.
Work completed last year included new concrete deck panels on the 138-metre east low level portion, complete with new expansion joints and a metal railing system.
The pre-cast concrete deck panels were an innovative approach, whereby they were “glued” on top of the existing deck—eliminating the more expensive and time-consuming process of conventional deck removal and asphalt paving.
Future work will entail repairs to 880 piles to the high level structure, plus almost a kilometre of new decking on both the high and low level structures.
It’s expected that more tenders will be called later in the fall, said Lambert.
The provincial government last year committed to reconstruct the entire Noden Causeway over five years.
Work on the causeway first began in 1958 and it was opened in 1965.
It was rehabilitated in the 1980s with new barrier walls and joints. In recent years, however, the causeway has demonstrated drainage problems, as well as poor pavement and joint conditions.
