The Garrington Bridge over the Red Deer River north of Sundre has reopened to vehicle traffic, 12 weeks after being heavily damaged by flooding.
One lane of the two-lane Highway 587 highway bridge reopened last week, with traffic control devices now in place to direct motorists.
“It's a lot better than it was,” said area resident Gary Bracken. “It's been three months of inconvenience for everyone. It should have been fixed a lot quicker, saving a lot of inconvenience for a lot of people, farmers, oilpatch and everybody else.”
On June 22 high water washed out the abutment on the east side of the bridge, forcing the closure.
The closure forced area residents and visitors to make long detours, either through Sundre or to Highway 54 to the north.
Repairs were started soon after the bridge was damaged. Since then crews have been rebuilding the approach to the bridge abutment,
New riverbank protection work is also being undertaken upstream of the bridge.
Officials hope to have both lanes reopened within a few weeks, with the riverbank protection work completed in November.
“Reopening one lane of this bridge across the Red Deer River is another milestone in Alberta's ongoing recovery from the devastating floods,” said Ric McIver, minister of transportation.
“Our staff, consultants and contractors collaborated to restore access so the community could move forward. I thank residents for their patience as we responded.”
The government should have addressed concerns with the bridge before the June flood, said Bracken.
“If they had been paying attention before the flood, it could have been prevented. The water was beating on that berm (embankment) for the last two years. If they had got in there and done something then, they wouldn't have had to have the road closed,” said Bracken.
