Markham Road closure eyed for bridge repair
Roadway over Rouge at Vinegar Hill in state of decay

March 20, 2014
YorkRegion.com
By Amanda Persico

The bridge leading up to Vinegar Hill is falling down.

Well, not literally.

But based on a structural engineer assessment done in 2009, the Main Street Markham bridge, which was built in 1946 and passes over the Rouge River, is at the end of its lifespan.

Rehabilitative work was done in 2010 to give the bridge an extra five years.

The entire bridge – footings, piers, decks, beams and all – will have to be replaced and a new bridge built in its place.

The city’s engineering director, Alan Brown, recommended at this week’s development services committee to shut down Main Street Markham between Hwy. 7 and just north of Hwy. 407 from July 2 to the end of the year to complete the work.

Some fear closing off Main Street Markham from the south end after two turbulent years of construction would only wreak havoc for shops and business owners along the reconstructed street.

“This is a tough one,” said Markham Village resident Phil Richardson, who is also the Markham Residents for Responsible Community Planning president and is a candidate for Ward 4 in the Oct. 27 municipal election.

“There needs to be a better short and long-term plan. This is the least expensive option, from whose point of view? Nowhere is the added half hour to hour commute times for residents or loss of revenue for businesses factored in.”

People already fed up with congestion will forget about Main Street Markham and shoppers will go elsewhere, he said.

He wants to see a cost analysis done on all bridge repair options and for the city to exhaust all options prior to closing the stretch of road.

Reducing the bridge to one lane is not an option, Mr. Brown said.

“For safety reasons, you can’t take down half the bridge and have one lane right beside it,” he said. “It’s not safe.”

There are strict provincial parameters when it comes to bridge work, which can only be done between July to September.

“This is the faster option,” Mr. Brown said. “We can knock it down and build a new one. Otherwise the next opportunity will not be until July 2015.”

As of now, the city isn’t seeing any immediate issues, but conducting another structural engineer assessment could take months and further delay construction.

“If we don’t deal with it now, we’re rolling the dice,” Mr. Brown said. “We want to avoid what happened on the John Street bridge. I don’t want to roll the dice.”

Several years ago, the John Street bridge was closed for emergency repairs and it took about eight months before bridge work could start.

The new bridge will feature three lanes, a tree lined boulevard and a multi-use pathway along the east side.

Prior to closing the bridge, utility services, such as power, cable and phone lines will be relocated. That will take place from April to July and comes with a price tag of abut $700,000.

Bridge removal and construction would take place between July and December, followed by bridge and road work in the first half of 2015 and streetscaping in the latter half of the year.

City staff are working on concerns raised at a public information meeting held last month, including pedestrian access, impact of road closure on emergency services, school buses, waste and snow removal services.

City staff are also working with York Region Transit and Hwy. 407 to prepare for the bridge’s closure.

There is a public liaison meeting March 20, 7 p.m. at the Markham Museum, 9350 Hwy. 48, Markham.

City staff will come back to development services committee on May 20, with an update on project tender awards, construction staging, traffic management and communication plans as well as concerns raised at this week’s public liaison meeting.