The slow and methodical disassembling of the Johnson Street bridge, a fixture of Victoria's Inner Harbour for 87 years, began Wednesday with the assistance of the largest ocean-going crane on the West Coast.

The Arctic Tuk, a Vancouver-based crane owned by Amix Heavy Lift and capable of lifting 600 tonnes, floated into Victoria harbour early Wednesday on its 105-metre-long barge. It was towed into place below the bridge and will serve as the muscle and work area for the removal of the old bridge and construction of its replacement.

On Friday, the first big event of the disassembly takes place — the removal of the rail span. Mike Lai, Johnson Street bridge project co-ordinator called it "an exciting milestone."

But before the 200-tonne rail span can move, workers must disconnect electrical and mechanical systems. Today, workers will cut tension bars on the top of the rail bridge and disconnect it from the counterweight tower and concrete counterweight.

Traffic on the bridge may be reduced to one lane throughout the preparatory period.

The rail span removal will take place on Friday, said Lai, but the exact time will not be known until just hours before. The bridge will be closed to all traffic for 30 minutes.

Once the rail bridge is removed, it will taken by barge just past the Point Ellice bridge to Ralmax, where the steel girders will be cut in preparation for recycling. Work will then begin on the counterweights, which are composed of steel pieces enclosed in concrete.

A large pneumatic chisel will chip away at the counterweights. The demolition of the counterweights is expected to take up to two weeks.

"lt will be noisy through the day, but that's part of construction work," Lai said.

The construction site is hazardous and the public will not be allowed near the bridge. The best vantage spot will be from Store Street parking areas.

There is also a webcam, refreshing every two minutes, at www.johnsonstreetbridge.com.

The removal process of the old bridge will continue until the end of March. The main span will remain in place during the construction of the new bridge, located to the north of the old one.

smcculloch@timescolonist.com