Finlay Bridge will close for five weeks for sewer work beneath the Riverside approach. It's the bridge's third closure in four years, just like it was in this file photo from last June.--NEWS FILE PHOTO
Finlay Bridge will be closed to traffic for the third time in four years Wednesday as a major sewer line is installed beneath its north-side approach.
New work will further progress on the Brier Park gravity bypass, which connects the northwest quadrant of the city to the rebuilt lift station on the banks of the South Saskatchewan River, below the Medicine Hat Golf and Country Club.
Phase 2 of this year’s construction plan will close the intersection of Second Avenue and Second Street NE, which will block access on and off the bridge for the duration of the project.
Traffic will be detoured around the site. The project is expected to last five weeks and will not affect access for pedestrians.
Last year, crews installed lines under Maple Avenue and the Canadian Pacific track via directional bore.
In 2020, Finlay Bridge was closed for more than two months as it was resurfaced and bridge abutments were secured.
The city states in its release that north access to the bridge was required, meaning sewer work could not have been completed concurrently in that year.
In 2018, Second Avenue N., which becomes Sixth Avenue S., across the bridge, was dug up as local sewer lines were replaced.
