Work to begin soon on new $314-million QEW bridge over Credit River in Mississauga

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Published October 18, 2021 at 4:19 pm

Image shows what the QEW bridge over the Credit River will look like once completed.

After years of planning, work on a new QEW bridge over the Credit River is set to begin this winter.  

Officials with EllisDon Corp. and Coco Paving Inc., who head up the building team awarded the $313.8-million contract late last year, say after completion of a stakeholder review and comment period next month, the shovel can go into the ground on the massive project. 

Public review, during which stakeholders can study details of the project, runs this Wednesday (Oct. 20) through Nov. 19. When that’s completed, the project will have met requirements of an environmental assessment and can move forward with construction. 

Work that will then begin this winter includes: 

  • rehabilitation of the existing 87-year-old, historically significant QEW bridge over the Credit River 
  • new active transportation (walking, cycling, in-line skating, etc.) bridge across the Credit River
  • landscape design
  • design refinements
  • commemoration and aesthetic treatment strategies

Building officials say night and weekend work will impact traffic for the duration of construction, which will take place over a 2.6-km stretch of the QEW from west of Hurontario St. to west of Mississauga Rd.  

They say they’ll keep the public informed of traffic impacts. 

The project, which was first studied by Ontario’s Ministry of Transportation (MTO) in 2013, also calls for: a new twin-bridge over the river to be located to the north of the existing bridge; reconfiguration of the Mississauga Rd. interchange including replacement of the Mississauga Rd. overpass; an active transportation bridge across the QEW; widening and improvement of the existing six-lane QEW main highway; and support facilities/features including landscaping, utilities, drainage, culvert and stormwater management improvements, illumination and noise walls. 

On first draft, the project 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 Rd., 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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