Outcry over bumpy Fredericton bridge forces province to fix paving job
Princess Margaret Bridge joints offered anything but a smooth ride after paving last week
Road crews returned Thursday to the Princess Margaret Bridge in Fredericton to fix a paving job that had left behind dramatic bumps and annoyed drivers on the major span across the St. John River.
The new layer of pavement added last week was higher than the 16 bridge joints, causing jolts to vehicles as they passed over each one.
The bridge carries Route 8 and is maintained by the provincial Department of Transportation and Infrastructure.
Tyler McLean, a spokesperson for the department, did not grant repeated interview requests but sent an email statement.
"The department heard public concerns following the paving work, and after further assessment, workers arrived on site today to do some repairs which will improve the drive," McLean wrote.
The bridge is one of only two across the St. John River at Fredericton. The two next crossings are upriver at the Mactaquac Dam or downriver at the Burton Bridge, between Maugerville and Oromocto.
The first paving work was done by Hogan Paving Ltd., a local company based in the Fredericton suburb of Killarney. Government records show that Hogan Paving's successful bid for the project was $227,298.
The company did not return requests for comment.
By Wednesday, permanent yellow bump signs had been added to both sides of the bridge, dropping the speed limit to an advised 50 kilometres and hour from 70 km/h.
On Thursday, crews worked on the bridge to mill the pavement directly next to each bridge joint, so "that there is a more gradual decrease of asphalt thickness," McLean said.
The original paving was installed as a temporary measure to protect the bridge over the winter, McLean said. It was going to be removed before scheduled work on the bridge next year.
McLean did not elaborate on what work is planned for 2024.
The Princess Margaret Bridge paving mishap comes after a long summer of disruptive roadwork in Fredericton.
'What a mess,' business owner says
In the days between the original paving work and Thursday's fix, residents took to social media to complain about the ride across the bridge, even sharing memes about the bridge. Videos posted online showed empty utility trailers catching air after being jolted by the bumps.
One business owner and driver had to rework his company's routes to avoid the bumps.
"What a mess, with capital letters," said Ed Budovitch, owner of Ed Bud's Sales and Services, a controlled-temperature meat delivery service.
"I pay insurance on at least 29 pieces of equipment, and I've told my drivers, anything in my name, you will not cross that bridge," Budovitch said in an interview on Wednesday, before the bumps were fixed.
His drivers were taking detours to the Westmorland Street or Burton bridges on their delivery routes.
"It's going to cost a whole lot more to fix it than it would have cost to do it right," he said.
Budovitch questioned why the paving work was approved in the first place.
"I'm not an engineer, I'm just a meat man that owns trucks, but I just can't imagine someone would approve that," Budovitch said.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
With files from Information Morning and Jennifer Sweet