‘A big pain’: Saint John residents frustrated by pending Harbour Bridge closures

The Harbour Bridge in Saint John, N.B., will have major construction delays this year.

When residents in Saint John, N.B., buckle up for a drive to go to and from the city’s west side they have a choice to make: take the Reversing Falls Bridge, which leads to the sometimes-challenging Simms Corner intersection, or travel the Saint John Harbour Bridge, which has been under construction for years?

At various times in the months ahead, they won’t have a choice.

Starting Thursday, the Saint John Harbour Bridge will be closed intermittently until early November.

Jacob MacDonald, communications officer with the New Brunswick Department of Transportation and Infrastructure (DTI), says the closures will be brief, lasting only about 20 minutes. They will only occur two to three times each month and happen outside peak traffic hours.

“Work currently underway on the Saint John Harbour Bridge involves the replacement of bridge bearings beneath the main traffic lanes,” MacDonald told CTV News in an email.

“This process requires the bridge deck to be raised using jacks and must therefore be completely free of traffic to ensure the safety of both the workers and motorists.”

MacDonald says the surface rehabilitation on main traffic lanes and ramps is expected to be done by the end of the fall.

“The bearing replacement under the main lanes from the Chesley Drive off-ramp to the eastern end of the bridge is ongoing and is expected to be completed in fall 2026,” says MacDonald.

“The bearing replacement under both the Chesley Drive off-ramp and on-ramp scheduled for construction between 2026 and 2028.”

The bridge has been undergoing a phased refurbishing project since 2021. The project could cost as much as $31 million by the time it’s finished in 2027 – up from the project’s initial budget of more than $26 million.

The federal and New Brunswick governments announced $15 million in funding for the project in February 2023. The provincial government says the construction project will extend the 1.3-kilometre structure’s lifespan by 30 to 50 years.

‘A real big pain’

Travelling across the bridge can be a slow roll with the construction as it currently stands, and many residents admit they try to avoid it altogether most days.

The closures also mean the quicker travel method over the Reversing Falls Bridge may take longer then it once did.

“It’s just hard when you need to get someone and you have to rebook appointments,” resident Glennis Campbell says. “It’s a pain, a real big pain.”

It’s a sentiment echoed by fellow Saint John resident Beverly Barwell.

“Terrible and awful,” she says of the continued delays and traffic disruptions caused by the bridge work.

The bridge closure has a more profound impact on those who reside on the city’s west side, and that includes businesses.

In a social media post Monday night, Doiron Sports Excellence called the closures a “serious blow” to small businesses like his.

“Someone from the other side of the bridge is not going to come over here and get their skates sharpened,” says owner Mark Doiron, as a example. “They’re going to choose to go somewhere else where it’s more convenient, less traffic, and we will never get that back.”

Doiron also says the closures are dangerous when it comes to first responders trying to get to the other side of the city for emergency calls.

He understands and appreciates the work being done to the bridge to ensure it will continue to be a reliable source for travellers to use in the decades ahead, but says how the work is being done matters.

“We just need our leaders to stand up for all of us,” Doiron says. “There’s just so many different aspects to this, not just business-wise, that the city has to look at and understand from our point of view.

“They have to stand up for us.”

Mayor Donna Reardon says she isn’t happy about the full closures and understands the frustration for west-side residents.

She says decisions related to the closures are made by DTI. She, like Doiron, is happy the province took on the project, but questions why a different timeline for the closures could not be made.

“I know to work day and night is far more expensive, but for some of this, where you actually have to stop the traffic, it would be nice that that could be done at night versus for some daytime,” Reardon says.

Despite the fact the bridge has been under construction for several years, Reardon says people still get confused dealing with the ongoing construction, and she looks forward to it being completed once and for all.

The Saint John Harbour Bridge first opened to traffic in August 1968.

With files from CTV’s Andrea Jerrett

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