60 Years of Road Salt Has Destroyed Ottawa’s Alexandra Bridge: Officials

A 123-year old interprovincial bridge connecting downtown Ottawa with Gatineau, Que., is nearing its end thanks to the effects of six decades of road salt, federal officials said on July 10. The Alexandra Bridge, which opened to trains, streetcars and horse-drawn wagons in 1901, has now rusted so thoroughly it cannot be maintained. “There are no solutions to maintain the bridge,” said Paul LeBrun, the Procurement Department’s chief engineer for bridges. The officials refused to say how much they think it will cost to build a new bridge, but a 2018 assessment estimated it at $800 million. “Obviously, a lot has happened since (then) with the pandemic, inflation, so … those have changed over time,” Mr. LeBrun said....