LRT bridge work to affect traffic on Anthony Henday Drive Thursday through Sunday

The LRT bridge over Anthony Henday Drive at 87 Avenue in west Edmonton under construction on Jan. 18, 2024. (Brandon Lynch/CTV News Edmonton)

Drivers on Anthony Henday Drive in west Edmonton will encounter lane and speed reductions the next four nights as workers install girders for the LRT bridge over the major roadway at 87 Avenue.

Crews for Marigold Infrastructure, the company building the city's Valley West LRT line, are scheduled to work overnight Thursday through Sunday, 8:30 p.m. to 5 a.m., to install the 10 girders for the bridge immediately south of the existing vehicle and pedestrian span.

The bridge will connect the western terminus of the line at the Lewis Farms Transit Centre to the line running down 87 Avenue from West Edmonton Mall.

Brad Baumle, construction manager for the project, said drivers can expect traffic to be diverted to one side of the road on Friday night and the other side on Saturday.

Crews will use two 500-ton cranes to help put the girders in place, five on each side of the Henday.

"The public can expect some traffic disruptions during those periods, but being at night, hopefully, we can minimize those disruptions," Baumle told media on Thursday at city hall.

The work may affect both northbound and southbound lanes at the same time, the city said. The on- and off-ramps to 87 Avenue will remain open during the installation work -- although Baumle said Wednesday some of the loops would be closed and drivers would be directed to detour routes -- and pedestrian access across the existing bridge will stay open.

Baumle said the work was originally scheduled for last weekend but the cold weather forced crews to wait a week.

"The forecast looks OK, so we're not expecting anything major to delay this work," he said.

Once girder installation is finished, crews will continue to work overnight, requiring lane reductions for about a month, the city said.

Baumle said work on Valley Line West is "progressing well" and that "this part of the bridge is planned to be complete by the end of 2024, which will then allow us to start installing rail and doing the actual track connection between Lewis Farms and the main alignment."

With files from CTV News Edmonton's Brandon Lynch