N.B. company lands $13M Miramichi bridge contract

A New Brunswick company has been awarded the multi-million-dollar contract to upgrade the Centennial Bridge in Miramichi.

MQM Quality Manufacturing Ltd., of Tracadie-Sheila, submitted the winning bid of more than $13 million, Transportation Minister Claude Williams stated in a release.

"It is good to see New Brunswick companies successfully competing for a major contract that brings work and economic activity to local communities," he said.

Construction is scheduled tobegin in early Julyand take about three years to complete, said Williams.

Motorists can expect single lane closures during the day and full closures of the bridge at night, he said.

One lane of the off-ramp for Church Street on the south end of the bridge will also be closed for 28 days this summer, but there will not be any closures during the Miramichi Irish Festival, which runs July 19 until July 22.

Centennial Bridge is 45 years old and requires maintenance to bring it up to current standards, said Williams.

The work will include structural steel repairs and other upgrades, such as painting of the southern approach spans and the main truss and deck truss spans.

Overweight permits for the bridge have been restricteduntil the repairs are made.

There were three other bids on the contract. The tender was issued April 27 and closed May 31.