This year's Connecting Link work is taking shape.
Miller Paving Ltd. has been given the $3.6 million contract to rehabilitate two bridges -— the Porcupine River bridge and Mattagami River bridge. It's one of two massive road projects slated for this year as the rest of Algonquin Boulevard through the downtown core is also being finished.
The work on the bridges is to address deficiencies issues that are "kicking around" with the bridges, said Scott Tam, director of growth and infrastructure.
The bridges are the only two on the Connecting Link and both were built in the 1990s. The rehabilitation work includes replacing the asphalt, waterproofing, concrete sidewalk and barrier wall work, pedestrian railings, as well as structural steel and concrete remediation.
Three bids were received for the project. Miller Paving was the lowest, though all of the bids are more than the $3.5 million budgeted by the city in 2024 for the work. The shortfall will be covered by the surplus money in the Hoyle bridge project, which is about $400,000 under budget.
RELATED: New Hoyle bridge should open later this year
This construction season is also the final year in Belanger Construction's three-year contract to reconstruct Algonquin Boulevard through the downtown core.
The 2024 work is from Balsam to just past Brunette, it includes removing the overpass and installing a snowmobile crossing.
"We are getting ready to essentially start talking mobilization in March. This is one of the first, we'll say, sequence in the grand scheme of things," said Tam.
