The city of Swift Current announced Thursday a delay in the completion of the Southside Bridge. The deadline for completion has been moved for 2 reasons; delays in construction due to adding pedestrian traffic throughout the project, and the heavy amount of rainfall over the last month.

The original date of Aug. 19 had to be renegotiated to allow for the addition of pedestrian traffic, which CP Rail and the city both agreed had to be done, as the original request had no pedestrian traffic during construction. This meant adding security structures on the East side of the bridge, to be moved to the West side once ready. The new date was set to Sept. 2.

The latest target completion date is now Sept. 16. Mitch Minken, General Manager of Infrastructure and Operations said, “this is an approximate date of Sept 16.” The date is an estimate due to weather. The crews are finishing final work on the west sidewalk. Starting Monday, Aug. 8, the pedestrian walkway will be closed, as construction crews move the safety guards to the west sidewalk. Once completed, pedestrian traffic can resume. Minken says it should take 3 – 5 days to get walkways completed. During that time, the city of Swift Current is offering three ways for pedestrians to cross; use the flat crossing at 11 Ave NE, use the Chinook Parkway trails, or call Swift Transit. Swift Transit will be offering free rides during the transfer for pedestrians shuttling from the south to the north side and back .

After the west sidewalk is set up, Minken says, “at this point the construction moves to a critical phase”. The east sidewalk will be demolished and the crews will begin pouring the entire road deck plus the eastside barrier. Minken stresses that while this is going on, there can be no rain. The entire slab must be poured so that there are no seams or cracks. Any rain will weaken the concrete.

The city had negotiated a clause if the construction was not completed on time the city could collect liquidated damages. The city will pursue the collection at the end of construction, and collect any damages that are due. The city can apply for liquid damages for every day after Sept. 2. The construction crew is hoping for more hot weather so that they can meet the new deadline. Forecast for the next week is, however, more rain.

The construction project is jointly funded by Building Canada Fund, The Saskatchewan Government and the City of Swift Current at a cost of $4.2 million.