Margaret Avenue bridge demolition underway

Demolition crews work at the Margaret Avenue bridge in Kitchener, Ont., on Monday, Nov. 4, 2013. (Nadia Matos / CTV Kitchener)

Work crews were out early Monday morning to begin tearing down the Margaret Avenue bridge.

“It’s easier to put them up than it is to take them down, but it’s been quite an effort to get to the point where we are today,” says City of Kitchener engineering construction manager Chris Spere.

The bridge, which runs over train tracks in Kitchener’s north end, has been closed since June due to engineers’ fears it could collapse without warning.

Councillors voted to demolish the current bridge and build a replacement, at a total cost of around $6 million.

Demolition work – preparations for which began two weeks ago – will stop whenever trains are approaching, Spere says.

Crews are working to cut the centre span of the bridge into 17 large pieces of concrete, each of which will be removed with a crane.

The new bridge is expected to be ready by spring 2015, although some councillors have called for it to be in place by the end of 2014.

Alan Hughes, who lives near the bridge, says he too would prefer a quicker rebuild.

“I hope that they do find the budget money in order to construct it next year,” he says.

“It’s such an impediment to all the pedestrians and traffic. It’s a challenge, and it’s going to be even worse when the winter comes on.”

The demolition is expected to be complete by the end of Wednesday.