Freight trains snake past each other near the community of Riverside in Medicine Hat on Monday. The process of replacing ties on the rail bridge crossing the South Saskatchewan River will require portions of Parkview Drive west of Maple Avenue bridge to be closed to traffic for portions of Tuesday and Wednesday this week. -- NEWS PHOTO COLLIN GALLANT
A second traffic entrance to the community of Riverside will be closed for portions of two days this week as work on the Canadian Pacific railroad bridge is completed.
Starting Tuesday, portions of Parkview Drive beneath the bridge will be blocked in the afternoon and evenings to traffic as CP crews replace ties and make repairs.
Also closed temporarily on Tuesday and Wednesday is the Heritage Trail Network in the vicinity. Work will take place between 2 p.m. and midnight each day.
Combined with the closure of Finlay Bridge, for deck replacement, motorists can access Riverside from 12th Street N.W. via Brier Park Road, and the TransCanada Highway onto Third Street.
That detour will not be affected by crossing upgrades of a spur line further east on Brier Park Road that will close that section for two days starting Tuesday. Such work is scheduled by the railroad, not the city.
Transit fares
Bus fares will increase to $2 per trip on Tuesday, Sept. 1, and the city’s transit department is advertising monthly passes as a way to save money as transfer slips are still not being handed out.
A release on Monday calls the return to non-essential travel on public transit “successful” and but notes transfers and single-use tickets are still not accepted as a way to limit contact between riders and drivers.
“Passengers who may require transfers are encouraged to purchase and use monthly passes,” said transit manager Mike Spicer. “We must continue to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.”
Monthly passes for September are on sale now at a cost of $70.50 for adults, $43.75 for seniors, $61 for college students ($232 for a semester pass) and $38.75 for those aged 6 to 17.
They are available at City Hall, the Esplanade, the Family Leisure Centre, the Veiner Centre, the College bookstore, hospital gift shop, the Medicine Hat Mall customer service desk, Pharmasave locations and South Country Co-op grocery stores as well as the Southridge Husky gas station and One Stop Esso station on Division Avenue, South.
