PEI

Longer detour around Montague bridge replacement

A detour will be three times longer than planned as work begins to replace the Head of Montague Bridge in Montague.

Weight restrictions on the County Line Road bridge has extended the detour

Weight restrictions on the bridge on the County Line Road have extended a detour as work begins to replace the Head of the Montague Bridge. (Pat Martel/CBC)

A detour will be three times longer than planned as work begins to replace the Head of Montague Bridge in Montague, P.E.I. 

The initial five-kilometre detour was going to include the County Line Road but engineers did an assessment Friday and determined the County Line Road bridge could not sustain heavy traffic, says the province's chief engineer Steve Yeo.

As a result, weight restrictions were put in place on the County Line Road bridge that day. 

"Consultants drew some attention to it — we had our staff go down and and look at it, and they felt that there was some concerns with heavy traffic going over it," Yeo said. "So that will be on the agenda for replacement." 

The department said the weight restrictions will stay in place until that replacement is built in the next three to five years. 

Meanwhile, work was expected to begin Sept. 4 on the Head of Montague Bridge and the 15-kilometre detour is expected to remain in place for a month. 

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With files from Laura Chapin