National Research Council in Ottawa to study failure of Nipigon River Bridge
Bridge failure severed only Canadian route between western and eastern Canada
Damaged bolts from a bridge that failed earlier this month in Northern Ontario — temporarily severing the only Canadian highway between western and eastern Canada — will be analyzed this week in Ottawa.
The National Research Council will examine the bolts to find out what caused the recently-built Nipigon River Bridge on the Trans-Canada Highway to suddenly heave apart on Jan. 10.
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According to a statement from the agency, the NRC's "experts in materials analysis and critical infrastructure" will study the bolts from the bridge, which the Ontario government began building in 2013 and which saw its westbound lanes opened to two-way traffic in November 2015.
The project, which the government pegs at $106 million, is due to be completed in 2017.
About 1,300 trucks normally cross the bridge in Nipigon, Ont., every day, moving about $100 million worth of goods across Canada daily.
One lane has been reopened since the failure happened.
Western University in London, Ont., will also be analyzing the bolts to see what went wrong. The work is expected to get underway Monday.