If you’ve been driving along Davis Drive recently, you’ve noticed the lane shift onto the new south side of the Keith Bridge, just east of the Tannery and the Seniors’ Meeting Place. In fact, if you’re on Davis Drive regularly you’ve seen the lane shifts for a few months.
Now that we’ve had time to do our preparatory work, we’re ready to start the next phase of bridge work. This week, the north side of Keith Bridge is being demolished so that we can rebuild and join it to the south side, completing the bridge. The demolition of the bridge will happen in two stages over the course of about one week – first the east half and then the west. Then the real work begins – building the bridge from the riverbed up to the road.
With all this work to do you may be wondering why we’d choose to start in the winter, instead of the spring or the summer. The bridge, named after William Keith, a Newmarket Reeve, an MPP and a Senior Magistrate in the early 1900s, spans the Holland River. Fisheries and Oceans Canada sets out specific timing for heavy construction [such as demolition] in and around water so that the spawning migrations of fish aren’t disturbed. We looked very closely at the factors and the timing involved before deciding that now is the best time to get the demolition done while not disrupting the fish.
Finishing the new Keith Bridge, complete with historic architectural features, in 2014 is a major part of the Davis Drive transformation. The new bridge will reflect Newmarket’s rich heritage and growing community, making it an even better place to live, work, shop and play.