Miramichi's Centennial Bridge closures begin Sunday night

Repairwork to Miramichi's Centennial Bridge begins Sunday with an overnight closure.

The bridge will be closedat 11 p.m. Sunday and reopens Monday at 5 a.m. The bridge will also be reduced to single-lane service.

Traffic lights will be in placeon the bridge to control the flow of vehicles.

MiramichiMayorAdamLordonsaid while the renovation work will cause some inconveniences, the end result is important.

"Once we get through these, frustrating as they'll be, you know then we'll be looking at 40 to 50 years with our signature piece of infrastructure in the community back up and running. "

Headvises people to plan accordingly and add extra time into their travel plans or take a different route.

Bridge is now 50 years old

This is the second year of an $83 million provincially and federally fundednine-year renovation project announced in 2015.

Centennial Bridge, opened in 1967, turns 50 years old this year. At the funding announcement two years ago, government officials said the project would ensure the bridge would last another 50 years.

A$13-million, three-year rehabilitation project to the bridge was completed in 2014.

The bridge on Route 8, is described as a strategic piece of infrastructure that links northern New Brunswick with the rest of the province and the country.

Other overnight closures are scheduled for April 16 and will continue for four nights until the morning of April 21.

Work on the bridge for the 2017 season is expected to be done in October.