The Official Moncton, NB Project Thread

[MonctonianSentinel01]

I wonder how the rest of the bridge will be made over time? As the Petitcodiac River widens, they will have to put more spans on to make it eventually to the other side. This will be something that I'll be watching to see how quickly the river can widen to see how long it will be until they need to make the bridge longer again. It could take a while though...... If I'm not mistaken I think they'll be making the bridge in 3 construction phases. My concern, even though only cosmetic, is that by the time the last part of the bridge is built, the first piece will look ancient, but lets hope not.

[Scarface]

I had seen a previous rendering and I will say it looked like there straighten Findlay Blvd, and cross right over but if that is the case it seems it would not connect to Milner Rd, and not Wheeler Blvd.

unless of course they build the bridge right next to the Causeway, or take out the causeway, and build the bridge in it's place.

[PEI highway guy]

Global news at 6 reported some sort of temporary bridge/lanes would be built to go around the newly constructed bridge. No details were given as to how that would work.

[mylesmalley]

http://www.gnb.ca/cnb/news/ss/2007e1005ss.htm

This is quite old, but the more recent concepts I remember seeing were pretty similar to this. Most of the causeway will be staying in place. What will be replaced is the gates and the area of causeway blocking the original channel. Bear in mind a 280 meter bridge isn't very long. From the corner of Paul and Champlain, 280 meters isn't quite the distance to Canadian Tire.

The full causeway can't be removed anyway. If the river were to be completely restored, it would wash away what's left of the old dump.

[MonctonianSentinel01]

Originally Posted by mylesmalley

http://www.gnb.ca/cnb/news/ss/2007e1005ss.htm

The full causeway can't be removed anyway. If the river were to be completely restored, it would wash away what's left of the old dump.

Right. Although about 2/3 of it can be. But the length of the bridge that they are building won't be long enough to unlock that 2/3 of river that can be. They'll have to make it longer in the future. I believe that when the time comes that they are going to build a concrete barricade (or some sort of barricade) in the ground to keep the river from digging into the old city dump and extend the bridge for more river width.

Thanks for the picture. I haven't seen this one in a while. Not sure if it's still the plan for the construction, the new bridge is shorter than what was announced in the past being at 240 meters rather than 280. I guess we'll have to wait and see when more details come out.

I got this picture off of the Petitcodiac Riverkeeper website.


You can see the in ground protection for a part of the downtown and the old city dump that I had mentioned above to get that roughly full 2/3's maximum river width.

[MonctonRad]

I would be happy with this. The intent of this project is to completely restore the fish habitat and to restore the tidal bore, not to restore the original width of the river channel.

The old dump would cause problems with a full river restoration, and the cost of a complete rehabilitation would be horrendous. Besides, the river side marshland is a great wildlife habitat and is a great complement to the riverfront walking trails. The more marshland we can maintain the better

It will be interesting to see just how wide the channel will become in front of Bore View Park. A doubling of the width could be quite exciting.

[MonctonianSentinel01]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

I would be happy with this. The intent of this project is to completely restore the fish habitat and to restore the tidal bore, not to restore the original width of the river channel.

Your right. But I would still like to see as much width recovered as possible.

[MonctonRad]

According to the T&T, the bridge replacement will be a 5 year project, with the new bridge usable by November 2020, but with final clean-up occurring in 2021.

Why does it take the government so long to do anything? That's almost as long as it took to fight WW2!! We're building a bridge here, not fighting a war........

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

According to the T&T, the bridge replacement will be a 5 year project, with the new bridge usable by November 2020, but with final clean-up occurring in 2021.

Why does it take the government so long to do anything? That's almost as long as it took to fight WW2!! We're building a bridge here, not fighting a war........

By announcing it before 2018 and completing it in 2021 the provincial Liberals can take credit for it during two election cycles.

Cynicism aside, generally infrastructure projects with substantial environmental impact have to go through quite a number of hurdles every step of the way.

[Freddypop]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

According to the T&T, the bridge replacement will be a 5 year project, with the new bridge usable by November 2020, but with final clean-up occurring in 2021.

Why does it take the government so long to do anything? That's almost as long as it took to fight WW2!! We're building a bridge here, not fighting a war........

$$$$ could be an important factor. PNB only has so much. So many priorities across the province ie hospitals, schools,roads,etc. Need to budget to have them move forward. Remember we are putting this project on our credit cards just like all the others. Be patient. It will get done

[mylesmalley]

Hell of a lot of dredging to do. My guess is that the fill on the west side of the existing causeway probably isn't strong enough to bear the weight of the new bridge approach. That part alone would be comparable to the reconstruction of Acadie last year.

[ScoutDog]

Noticed a Facebook comment made by Dawn Arnold on December 22nd, 2016. I'm intrigued about a 'VERY exciting project'. Any ideas?

"What a fabulous day! I have to say that days like today make up for a lot. This morning, along with Councillor Charles Léger, I got to meet many of the hard-working team members at MAGMA and thank them for their contribution to our City. I finished writing a speech I need to deliver in January (which always feels great!), finished writing an article, met with some very dynamic and forward-looking citizens about DT design ideas, and then, topped it all off with a presentation from some developers on a VERY exciting project. It is an excellent time to be in Moncton! #MovingMonctonForward

[MonctonRad]

No ideas, but I hope it's something downtown associated in some way with the new events centre.

[ScoutDog]

I hope its the Aquilini family, plans for the Crown Plaza block and the purchase of Parcel B of the DT Centre. Fingers crossed.

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

No ideas, but I hope it's something downtown associated in some way with the new events centre.

[jnnie]

Anyone know where to find more specific information on how they plan to deal with the old landfill, by remediation tactics or barriers?

[MonctonRad]

Welcome to the forums.

No plans for remediation beyond what they've already done AFAIK

There will be a rock barrier between the landfill and the river, and the causeway replacement is only partial, so I don't expect the widened channel to come anywhere near the old landfill.

[MonctonRad]

City of Moncton News release:

Building permits on the rise in 2016
January 11, 2017

MONCTON – The economic climate in Moncton continues to show signs of growth and optimism as the City closes its books on 2016.

The year ending December 31, 2016 saw a record breaking $241.7 million in building permits taken out in the City of Moncton, which included $91.5 million in permits for the Downtown Centre that is currently under construction. The 10-year average is $166 million, ranging from a low of $128 million seen in both 2008 and 2015, to this year’s high of nearly $242 million.

Residential development had a major boost in November, with nearly $18 million in permits being issued to Shannex Corp., which is developing multiple seniors’ apartment complexes on the lands of Université de Moncton. This brings the year’s residential total to $58 million, which soundly beats the $32.5 million from 2015 and nearly gets back to the 10-year average of $60.4 million.

Commercial and industrial projects were strong through the year, coming in at $162 million ($70.6 million net of the Downtown Centre). While the total is a record high, the net amount represents the fourth-highest showing over the past 10 years, and includes strong growth within the Downtown core itself. The 10-year average for commercial permits is just shy of $65 million.

“To have this level of development activity in the Downtown is vitally important,” explained Mayor Dawn Arnold. “Our Downtown core has been stable, but not seeing the kind of growth that I know we are capable of. This news is very encouraging, and I believe we are only at the beginning.”

Institutional permits were in at $17.5 million, down sharply from $45.7 million in 2015. The 10-year average for institutional permits is $28.7 million, and is largely dependent on government spending.

“We definitely hit some key milestones in 2016. The private sector investment in both the commercial and residential segments demonstrates considerable confidence in Moncton’s economy,” said Kevin Silliker, Director of Economic Development. “We are starting the New Year with some promising new projects, and we will be working hard to see those and others through.”

Observations:

1) - the 18M permit issued to Shannex in November is presumably for phase two of the Shannex Faubourg complex on Morton
2) - I wonder what the "promising new projects" are that they are looking forward to in 2017.

[MonctonRad]

World's 10 Most Affordable Housing Markets (according to CNN)
http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/23/archit...ies-hong-kong/

World's 10 most affordable housing markets in 2017
1. Racine, Wisconsin, US
2. Bay City, Michigan, US
3. Decatur, Illinois, US
4. Elmira, New York , US
5. East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, US
6. Karratha, Australia
7. Lima, Ohio, US
8. Moncton, Canada
9. Peoria, Illinois, US
10. Rockford, Illinois, US

I'm not sure that this is good news or bad news.

Vancouver was #3 on their list of most expensive housing markets in the world........

[Nashe]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

World's 10 Most Affordable Housing Markets (according to CNN)
http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/23/archit...ies-hong-kong/

World's 10 most affordable housing markets in 2017
1. Racine, Wisconsin, US
2. Bay City, Michigan, US
3. Decatur, Illinois, US
4. Elmira, New York , US
5. East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, US
6. Karratha, Australia
7. Lima, Ohio, US
8. Moncton, Canada
9. Peoria, Illinois, US
10. Rockford, Illinois, US

I'm not sure that this is good news or bad news.

Vancouver was #3 on their list of most expensive housing markets in the world........

Geography is our friend, really. You won't find a bigger canvas than the Moncton area for growth. LOL.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by Vorkuta

Geography is our friend, really. You won't find a bigger canvas than the Moncton area for growth. LOL.

Compared to Vancouver, that's certainly the case.

Flat as a pancake and surrounded by virgin forests.........

Seriously though, this geographic "advantage" is an urbanists worst nightmare. It leads to low density, low value urban sprawl rather than high quality moderate to high density construction within the urban core.