CLOSURE: Demolition work, other activity shuts down Credit River under QEW bridge in Mississauga
Published January 2, 2024 at 10:30 am
Canoers, kayakers and others will be impacted by a full closure for the next four months of the section of the Credit River near the QEW bridge in Mississauga.
According to project leaders overseeing major bridge rehabilitation work, part of the popular watercourse from just north of the QEW overpass to just south of it (see image below) closed down to the public this past Saturday and will remain closed until April 30.
Officials with the QEW/Credit River Improvement Project say the four-month shutdown of the section of the watercourse is due to “overhead construction on the QEW Credit River twin bridge.”
They add that work on the new bridge structure and deck will include demolition activity as well as welding and other tasks.
In addition to cutting off use temporarily to rowers, paddlers and other members of the public, officials note that minor noise impacts are also anticipated as the work continues.
Image shows part of the Credit River that will be closed due to work on the QEW bridge situated above the watercourse. (Image: QEW/Credit River Improvement Project)
Work crews have partially shut down areas of the river near the QEW over the past couple of years, but the latest part of the project marks the first time access to the river will be fully closed off.
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A section of the Credit River in the same area was closed down temporarily to paddlers and rowers in summer 2022 and into the fall as the bridge work continued.
After years of planning, work on the new bridge continues to move forward. No firm completion date has been announced.
The huge project consists of:
- construction of a new twin bridge north of the existing Credit River bridge
- rehabilitation of the existing Credit River bridge
- widening/improving of the QEW
- replacing the Mississauga Rd. overpass
- improving/reconfiguring the Mississauga Rd. interchange
- constructing active transportation (pedestrian, bicycles, etc.) crossings (and associated trail infrastructure) at the QEW and over the Credit River
EllisDon Corp. and Coco Paving Inc. head up the building team that was awarded the $313.8-million contract in late 2020.
The project, first studied by Ontario’s Ministry of Transportation in 2013, initially called for demolition of the existing 840-ft.-long bridge, which was built in 1934 and expanded in 1960.
However, public outcry and strong opposition from Mississauga city council in late 2019 changed the provincial government’s mind, and it was decided the existing span, located just east of Mississauga Road, would be rehabilitated instead.
The province said that based on the feedback it received in the aftermath of the demolition announcement, it made the decision to preserve the original heritage structure of the bridge, which is owned by the Ontario government.
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