Years after it was closed indefinitely, a new bridge in Hoyle is expected to open this year.
Looby Builders Ltd. has been awarded the $5 million contract to rebuild the bridge over the Porcupine River on Frederick House Lake Road.
"I know the people down there are going to be ecstatic once this is passed through here tonight, it's something that they've been wanting," said Ward 4 Coun. John Curley at the Feb. 6 council meeting.
The Hoyle bridge has been closed since November 2021. It's meant there's only one crossing over the river in that area. Traffic has been rerouted down Carrigan Road.
Its closure has led to some heated community meetings over the years.
In July 2022, over 100 people packed into the Hoyle Community Centre for the one-on-one information session that turned into a heated group discussion where residents drove home concerns about emergency access, safety issues and the city's communication with affected residents.
The following month, concerned residents hoping to hear an update on the bridge filled council chambers. At one point during that meeting, a local man stormed into the room with two rocks in hand to highlight safety concerns.
The new bridge being built by Looby Builders is a two-lane, 48-metre single-span bridge. While the city has prioritized the project, the staff report warns that the availability of structural steel could disrupt the schedule.
The goal is to open the bridge in November 2024.
"I'm hoping for a nice day and we can do the opening down there ... it'd be nice to be able to finally open something that unfortunately was closed because of conditions," said Curley.
The contract price is less than the $5.4 million that the city budgeted for the work this year.
The project also attracted 10 bidders, which has been a rare occurrence recently.
Coun. Lorne Feldman noted the number of people interested in the project, asking if there are any insight into why it was so popular.
"I hope this is a nice trend moving forward for us but I can't put a notion of why we got so many bidders for this one," said Scott Tam, director of growth and infrastructure.
"Well, maybe we'll just celebrate it and not ask too many questions," added Feldman.
