Commuters will get a measure of relief Monday when the Point Ellice Bridge reopens to two-way daytime traffic for the first time in five months.
The crossing, also known as the Bay Street bridge, has been closed to eastbound vehicles since May 21 to allow for $6.1 million in upgrades.
Victoria officials announced Wednesday that the bridge will open to two-way traffic each day from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m., as well as on Friday and Saturday evenings.
It will still be necessary to close the bridge to eastbound traffic from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. Sunday to Thursday to allow work on the bridge to continue through November, the city said.
Philip Bellefontaine, Victoria’s assistant director of transportation, said the city is re-opening the bridge to daytime traffic a month ahead of schedule.
“We’ve been acutely aware of the traffic impacts on this bridge,” he said. “There are only two bridges in Victoria and they carry a lot of traffic.
“So we have done everything from Day 1 to try to bring forward this particular part of the project, so that we can get the bridge open to two-way traffic as soon as possible and people can get back to their lives.”
Anne Farmer, co-owner of the Moon Under Water Brewery, Pub and Distillery at 350B Bay St., said the bridge closure has led to a 20 to 30 per cent drop in business and forced the company to cut staff hours. “It’s been really bad,” she said.
Although she’s happy to see the bridge opening during the day, Farmer said the evening closures will continue to have an impact until the bridge is finally finished.
“It doesn’t help a lot because a lot of people don’t necessarily keep track of when it’s open and when it’s not, and they’re more likely just to stay away until they don’t have to worry about it at all,” she said.
Bellefontaine said the city knew the project would have an impact on people and businesses, but the work had to be done.
“We won’t be having to do this kind of scope of work for many, many decades to come,” he said.
The project has involved stripping and re-painting steel on the underside of the 61-year-old bridge, removing rust, repairing the concrete deck and repaving the road.
“The work that’s remaining is underneath the bridge,” Bellefontaine said. “There is still work on stripping some of the steel, painting it, and the bulk of the effort will be the removal of the scaffolding as we retreat away from the bridge.”
Motorists are reminded to use caution when travelling in the area and to obey all traffic signs until the project is finished.
