The Blue Bridge will shut down for five-and-a-half hours Sunday morning to allow for repairs.

The bridge will be closed to all vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians from 5:30 a.m. to 11 a.m., the City of Victoria said in a statement.

Traffic will be rerouted to the Bay Street bridge.

A contractor is replacing wooden pilings beneath the bridge that act as a fender in the event a watercraft collides with the structure. The pilings were damaged by a passing barge last year.

The repair work will continue next week, though no further traffic disruptions are expected.

Work on replacing the bridge will begin this summer with a new span expected to be completed by 2016. Once the new crossing is opened, the current bridge will be decommisioned.

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