Harbour Bridge to complete 2025 work by end of November

The work on the Harbour Bridge in Saint John, N.B., is nearly done.

The 2025 portion of the rehabilitation work to Saint John’s Harbour Bridge is nearing the finish line.

Saint John city officials shared a post on Facebook Thursday saying all lanes of the bridge will reopen to traffic by the end of November.

That includes both the on and off ramps at Chelsey Drive, as well as the removal of a Harbour Passage detour near the Brunswicker.

“It’s always exciting when the bridge opens up,” says Saint John Deputy Mayor John MacKenzie. “It’s a huge inconvenience, I know it’s a necessary work that needs to be done, but people are sure happy when it’s over for the season and they get to use all four lanes.”

Temporary lane closures are still a possibility, but 2025 marked the final year of full-time lane closures on the Harbour Bridge. Temporary single lane closures will return to the bridge in 2027.

The initial timeline on the project had all work being completed in 2026.

“It’s frustrating because in other areas you get a bridge fixed within a reasonable time, this has been going on for years and years,” MacKenzie notes. “We also have times when we have trains going across Simms Corner which makes it tough for people trying to go east or west.”

Ramp closures and harbour passage detours are expected to continue for the next three years. Twenty-minute full bridge shutdowns will also continue in 2026 for bearing replacements.

“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,” New Brunswick Department of Transportation and Infrastructure (DTI) communications officer Jacob MacDonald told CTV Atlantic in July.

MacKenzie says DTI has done a good job in keeping the city in the loop when it comes to updates on the work and notice of closures.

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 2028 – 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.

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

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