Ontarians won’t know what caused a critical bridge in northern Ontario to fail until the fall. Government bridge engineers are conducting their own analysis and so is an independent engineering consultant with expertise in cable-stayed bridges. The steel decking on the recently built Nipigon River Bridge lifted about 60 centimetres on Jan. 10, forcing a 24-hour closure that severed the Trans-Canada Highway link between the east and west. Two independent facilities did testing on the bolts and have now submitted their reports to the Ministry of Transportation, but the government isn’t making those public yet. Ministry spokesman Bob Nichols says the reports provide a “partial answer” about what happened, but it is “premature” to discuss them without the full picture.

Source: thestar July 05, 2016 15:57 UTC