A recent bridge inspection has resulted in the closure of the Johnston Bridge in Quesnel.
It will be closed as of 9 o’clock tomorrow morning until further notice.
City Manager Byron Johnson says they were doing a study on all of Quesnel’s bridges to see if they were able to handle the weight of 9-axle logging trucks, and as a result the engineers also did a physical condition assessment on them….
“And they’ve let us know that the Johnston Bridge does have some corrosion problems that need to be dealt with, so over an abundance of caution and until such time as they have the chance to really analyze what that damage is and what the impact should be on the load rating, they suggested that we close that bridge to give them a chance to look at the issue in more detail.”
Johnson says the City realizes how important this bridge is, and they don’t expect a long closure…
“We’re looking at probably a two week period before they come back with their first report, and that report should include what the safe limit is for driving on it, and shortly after that we will also get a report on what our options are with the bridge, so we’re not looking at a long, long delay here, we realize that a lot of people use this bridge, industry uses this bridge, it’s important for a number of reasons.”
Johnson says they have no idea what the cost might be at this point, but he says if it is substantial they will be looking to industry and/or the province to help pay the bill.
Industrial traffic must detour through Red Bluff via Plywood Road as it will not be allowed to detour through Johnston Subdivision.
The bridge will remain open to pedestrian and bicycle traffic.
An inspection on both the Baker Creek Bridge and the Moffat Bridge indicated that they were both in good condition.