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The Quinpool Road bridge that seemed too, too far from completion three months ago now seems within commuter reach.

“The project is still on schedule,” Alexandre Boule of the CN communications team said in an email Tuesday. “CN is working with the city and citizens will be informed of the upcoming reopening of the bridge as soon as possible.”

Quinpool Road was closed to traffic April 1 to facilitate work on the deteriorating railway bridge. The rehabilitation project to repair and fortify the arch bridge structure was scheduled to continue until some time in mid-August. The road is closed from the Armdale roundabout to Connaught Avenue, a stretch of road that normally accommodated 27,000 vehicles a day in rush-hour traffic. The detour takes vehicles, including buses, onto Chebucto Road, to Connaught and back to Quinpool.

Pedestrians and cyclists are being routed through Armview Avenue, to Tupper Grove, to Prince Arthur Street. All detour routes are signed.

Now, detouring’s end is in sight. It appears that the bridge is being prepared for paving. A road roller is at the ready to compress the aggregate that will support the asphalt. The sidewalks crossing the bridge also appear to have been completed. The two outer lanes of Quinpool’s four lanes have even been partially repaved leading up to the bridge from the roundabout.

Coun. Shawn Cleary, who represents the area, said the original mid-August completion date remains intact but he and many commuters are hopeful that the project may come in ahead of schedule.

“The last bit of work to be completed is weather-dependent,” Cleary said. “If things continue to go well, I’d love for it to be done early. CN and Halifax’s transportation and public works staff meet regularly about the project. The official date remains Aug. 15 but I’m hoping this might be one of those rare projects that gets done on time or even ahead of schedule.”

CN is on the financial hook for the bridge repairs and the municipality is responsible for paving the surface, for the sidewalks and for the bridge railing. Boule said CN will not disclose the cost of the project, one of three cost-shared bridge-rehabilitation projects that CN will complete this year in Halifax Regional Municipality.

The other bridge work was scheduled to be done over several days in March, including tree removal to accommodate repairs to the Belmont on the Arm and Marlborough Woods bridges in the city’s south end.