The Regional Municipality of Durham has taken a step forward towards the start of planned construction this year of a new permanent bridge across Beaver River in the Township of Brock.
The new bridge is projected to be in place in 2027. Funding for this project is being provided by the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario.
The municipality has submitted information to the Navigable Waters Registry, as required under the Canadian Navigable Waters Act. This submission is available for public comment and it includes details about the project site and plans.
The proposed work involves replacing the current temporary Beaver River Bridge with a new permanent bridge.
The Region of Durham is progressing with a permanent replacement of the Beaver River Bridge, located on Regional Road 15 west of Highway 12, in the Township of Brock. The old bridge will be replaced with a new structure and it is scheduled to commence construction in 2026 and be completed in 2027. In the interim, a temporary bridge opened to traffic in November 2024, said a region statement.
It said the temporary bridge has adequate capacity to support full traffic loads with no posted weight restriction. The bridge is subject to vehicle weight and dimension limits as prescribed in the Highway Traffic Act (HTA).
Replacement Details
The temporary bridge has been placed with the plan to construct the north portion of the permanent bridge while traffic remains on the temporary bridge. Traffic would then be moved to the permanent bridge and the temporary bridge removed, allowing for the remainder of the permanent bridge to be constructed. As a result, subject to design feasibility and agency approvals, the expectation is that the duration of any future project road closures would be limited to short durations (days) at a time to complete certain construction items and traffic staging changes, the region said.
Given the lane shifts required until the permanent bridge is completed, a localized 40 km/h posted speed limit is in place through the bridge site and to the east of the Highway 12 intersection. The speed limit will return to 60kmh once the project has been completed in 2027, it said.
