Note the rehabilitation date of 2023 and the end date of 2024 in the title. Evidently something happened during a weekend closure on Saturday, Mar 30, 2024, that prevented the bridge from reopening on Apr 1, 2024. Government officials mumbled about repairs until June when they finally decided that it would have to be replaced.
Fortunately, Waaban Crossing Bridge just opened upstream in 2022.
This Apr 7 video describes the installation of the platform so that the bridge could be safely inspected. You can see the bent truss member in the center of this view. Compare it to the straight member on the right side.
The 2023-25 rehabilitation work was scheduled for the offseason from November to the end of April and was expected to extend the life 30 years. [canada_rehibilitation] Instead, the work extended the life for zero years.
Aerosnapper Kingston posted two photos with the comment: "Work to remove the counterweight from the La Salle Causeway lift bridge has gone very well today [Jun 17, 2024]. Here's the situation in late afternoon. You can draw comparisons between this and the scene at 9:11 this morning when the first hammer blows were struck!"
Janey Anderson shared with the comment:
Work has begun demolishing the the LaSalle Causeway Bascule Bridge in Kingston, Ontario after it was damaged at the end of March, 2024The federally owned bridge spans the Great Cataraqui River where it meets the St. Lawrence River. It connects drivers and pedestrians in the east end of Kingston to downtown, but it was damaged during routine construction on March 30.The closure has caused significant traffic problems in downtown Kingston and has had an impact on the local tourism industry. Cruise ship companies who operate in the area have said the closure of the bridge has delayed their ability to launch ships.Toronto drydock tug Radium Yellowknife and 604 barge are on their way to assist in this project!June 16, 2024
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| Guy Carlo, May 2019 |
"This bridge remains in outstanding condition today....As of 2013, there has been talk of building a second bridge to cross the river and bay in this area, but currently it does not appear that this highly significant heritage bridge is at risk for demolition." [HistoricBridges]
The construction work that wrecked the bridge was a $8,754,110 rehabilitation project that began in Nov 2023 and was to be completed by May 2025. [newswire]
When it was announced on Apr 1, 2024, that the bridge is closed because of an "incident" on Mar 30, 2024, I wonder how many people thought it was an April Fools joke. [2:06 video description]
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| cbc_May_10 As of May 10, the government was still talking about repairing the bridge. [The Mammoet platform under the counterweight was removed Jun 16 [9:06 video] to make way for demolition. ] |
This Apr 7 video describes the installation of the platform so that the bridge could be safely inspected. You can see the bent truss member in the center of this view. Compare it to the straight member on the right side.
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| 2:34 video @ 1:40 |
Here is another view of that bent member.
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| 1:28 video @ 0:51 After a scheduled weekend closure for work over the weekend 30/31 March, Public Services and Procurement Canada, who manage the bridge, announced that it would remain closed until further notice. Reports circulated of a weekend incident. This was sufficient reason to take a look - and here's what was revealed. Public Services and Procurement issued a more detailed statement late on Tuesday, April 2nd, which can be read here: |
The $1.7m contract to remove the bridge was awarded Jun 5, and the channel is expected to be cleared in about a month. [kingstonist]
They have recently put a lot of work (i.e. money) in the bridge that is now being removed.
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| canada_bridge |
The 2023-25 rehabilitation work was scheduled for the offseason from November to the end of April and was expected to extend the life 30 years. [canada_rehibilitation] Instead, the work extended the life for zero years.
I could not find any information about what happened that could bend such a big beam like we see in the videos. And I would expect an "incident" to kink it rather than bend it. I'm sure there are lawyers working overtime to keep the details secret.
SkEye Stream posted two photos with the comment: "Lasalle Causeway update June 18."
Janey Anderson shared with the comment: "Captain Jeff Harding on Radium Yellowknife with barge 604."
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Janey Anderson posted five photos with the comment:
They will lift the bridge by ballasting down the barge and then placing it under the bridge. Then deballast and lift it with buoyancy and raise it to the level where they can roll it off to shore.Enjoy these shots - more shots to come, stay tuned.June 17, 2024
Scott Welch: How was the bridge damaged, and what exactly was the damage? Hard to imaging how something that size could be damaged beyond repair.
Jamie Dickey: Scott Welch a contractor was doing repairs and mistakenly removed a key support beam for the counterweight. That twisted the remaining supports and permanently damaged the 100+ year old bridge.
The bollards are blocking the view of the bent truss member so we can't get another look at it. They have already removed the rack members.
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| Janey Anderson posted CAUGHT LIVE ON VIDEO TODAY! WATCH IT FALL! After a century of service, the counter weight was removed and disconnected from the LaSalle Causeway bridge being demomished in Kingston, Ontario. Tomorrow’s work includes Radium Yellowknife tug & 604 barge to relocate the steel structure. Keep watching for great footage of this epic event live from Kingston courtesy of Captain Jeff Harding onboard Toronto Drydock tig Radium Yellowknife. June 18, 2024 Gregory Van Eyken: Pre 1945 steel is valuable even as scrap. It predates the nuclear tests and is valuable for applications where very low levels of radioactive contamination is desirable. |
Did they know the trunnion bearings would hold and the truss would not snap off and roll over onto the excavator? And as a commenter pointed out, the iron worker doesn't seem to be wearing any fall protection.
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| From video in Janey's post above |
Jun 18:
This video caught the removal of the rack members.
In this view, it appears that they welded a black beam next to the bent truss member to help stabilize the bridge.
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| 3:26 video @ 1:18 |
In this view, it appears that they welded a black beam next to the bent truss member to help stabilize the bridge.
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| @ 0:54 |
Jun 19:
This view of the ironworkers cutting a deck attachment also shows the black beam that has been added to the compromised truss member.
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| 3:52 video @ 0:45 |
Jun 20:
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| 4:34 video @ 1:05 |
On Jun 20th, Aerosnapper also caught a cruise ship that had been trapped in her winter harbor making an escape and get to work. I think the boat lost at least a month of its tourist season. I'll bet the cruise lines and harbor tour companies wish the government had decided to remove the bridge in April instead of June.
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| 6:24 video @ 5:44 |
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| Janey Anderson posted Ship Junkies made Global News last night! Thanks to Captain Jeff Harding on tug Radium Yellowknife for his fantastic time-lapse video of the Lasalle Causeway bridge being removed! Link is in comments below as it can't be shared on Facebook. 😡 |
The End, Jun 25:
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| 5:30 video @ 2:11 |
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| 3:02 video |
The bridge operators have to grease the bridge.
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| 1:30 video |
The footage at 5:22 is when the rocker arm is cut loose and it falls backwards.
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| 9:51 video @ 1:11 |
I quit saving his videos because he produced a lot of update videos. Go to his channel to see how they built and installed the replacement bridge.
Oct 15, 2024:
Aerosnapper Kingston posted two photos with the comment: "Free for a few short hours, the temporary Acrow bridge lies back on the barge Radium 604 attended by 'super' tug Radium Yellowknife after extraction from the La Salle Causeway by a team from Western Mechanical Electrical Millwright Services Ltd. this morning. Her rest will be short-lived; she's to be re-installed by midnight tonight."
Aerosnapper Kingston shared with the comment: "now you see it - now you don't (as part of the causeway)."
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Dec 2024: Causeway Memories
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| 5:15 video |
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