New Apex bridge opens Wednesday

Drivers in Apex can expect to shave a minute or more off their daily commute starting Wednesday afternoon.

That’s when the new Apex bridge opens to traffic, Geoff Byrne, spokesperson for the City of Iqaluit, confirmed in an email.

“We are delighted to hear the bridge will be complete this week,” said Anne Crawford, an Apex resident whose window looks out at the new bridge.

She is preparing banners and plotting logistics for a bridge-completion celebration, unofficially scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday.

“It has been obvious that it is nearing completion in recent days. We look forward to the parade,” Crawford said.

“Weather permitting,” she added, “Come to the bridge at 2 p.m. Saturday, even if the city doesn’t join in.”

Crawford has dutifully documented the bridge’s progress online all summer, and said she received 750,000 views on at least one of her posts.

The new 25-metre, double-lane bridge spans the Niaqunguk River and includes a pedestrian walkway on one side.

Niaqunngusiariaq Road, the main route into and out of Apex, has been closed since July 20 while the new bridge was being built.

During that time, traffic was diverted to the single-lane bypass road over the causeway just north of the construction site, where traffic was controlled by a timed traffic light.

In June, city council awarded a $2.7-million contract to Tower Arctic Ltd. to remove and replace the 69-year-old Bailey truss-style bridge that had been built with Second World War surplus materials.

Dillon Consulting Ltd. is named in the contract for engineering and administrative work.

The old single-lane bridge was removed by crane in one day on Aug. 10.

Construction on the new bridge was originally scheduled to finish by Oct. 20. But rain, as well as complications with finishing the foundation, pushed that date to Nov. 10, said Byrne, adding the bridge needed a few more days after that to finally be completed.