N.S. government shares details of plan to replace Seal Island Bridge

The Nova Scotia government has started work on a plan to rehabilitate the Seal Island Bridge, officially known as the Great Bras d’Or Crossing, in Cape Breton.

The bridge, which spans the St. Andrew’s Channel, is a well-know landmark.

But, after more than 60 years, it is in need of repair. The government plans to replace it, but in the meantime, work is needed to extend the life of the bridge.

Engineers from Nova Scotia’s Department of Public Works shared details of a plan Tuesday, developed with consulting firm Cowi, to extend the life of the bridge up to 15 more years.

The government says the rehabilitation project will cost at least $10 million and take three to four years. It should be complete by 2027.

"We understand how important this infrastructure is for the people of Cape Breton and those travelling to and from the island," says Public Works Minister Kim Masland in the Tuesday news release.

The rehabilitation project will give the government time to plan construction for a replacement bridge, according to Don Maillet, executive director of highway planning, design and construction for Public Works.

"We decided to proceed with a 15-year (plan) to get us at a point where we could design and consult and do all the preliminary work we needed to do (for a new bridge),” says Maillet.

Although the rehabilitation project will give the Cape Breton bridge about 15 additional years, Public Works says they expect the whole planning and construction process to take 10 years.

PLANNING A REPLACEMENT BRIDGE

A couple of options were presented for the design and location of the new Seal Island Bridge, though the engineers say both would be next to the existing bridge.

Project manager Aaron Ferguson says there are current examples of bridge replacements being done in a similar way elsewhere in the country.

“There's a patella bridge in Vancouver, very similar-looking to this,” Ferguson says. “It's, of course, bigger and wider. They're replacing it with a cable stayed adjacent to it."

Victoria County warden Bruce Morrison, who lives across from the bridge in Baddeck, N.S., felt both replacement options looked good at first glance.

"Certainly the condition and the future of that bridge has been the source of a lot of speculation over the last number of years,” Morrison says. "Either way, we hope within 15 years we'll have a new bridge."

Whenever replacement work starts, they say drivers will still be able to get across.

"That's the benefit of building the bridge beside the existing bridge, is you don't impact the motoring public that much,” says Maillet.

Public Works says the first tender on the rehabilitation work would close on Wednesday.

The government says they will release tender documents for the other rehabilitation projects in 2024 and 2025.