Bridge 18 committee chair Steve Falusi expects a full house Wednesday night at Carrie Lynn Pinard Centre when Welland city officials will be on hand to answer questions about the status of Forks Road Bridge.

"We've had a number of questions submitted already and we're going over them now," said Falusi, adding the hope is to address as many as possible.

He said residents want to know what's going to happen with the city-owned bridge, downloaded from Niagara Region in 2000.

The bridge, one of two access points to Dain City, was closed to vehicular traffic last October due to safety concerns with the underside of the steel structure. Repairs carried out in 2016 were expected to bolster the bridge until at least 2020, but an engineering firm found the 88-year-old span is deteriorating faster than expected.

A report also said it could collapse on itself within the next year to 18 months. Last December it was closed to pedestrian traffic due to concerns extra weight from snow could compromise its stability.

Costs to tear down the structure, check the existing piers to see if they could support a new bridge and come up with a new bridge design are estimated to be about $4 million. A new structure could cost the city between $13 million and $18 million.

Falusi said residents have safety concerns around the bridge being closed, including the added time it takes for students being bused to Port Colborne to arrive at and come home from school.

"They want to know why no taxpayer dollars were set aside in Welland's coffers . and where we go from here," he said, adding most of the community is on the same page when it comes to questions about the bridge.

City engineer Erik Nickel said a report on the bridge will come before city council Tuesday, March 19.

The report will have a plan on how the city will remove the structure and chief financial officer Steve Zorbas expects to have details on funding for its removal and construction of a new bridge.

He said the plan will look at having things done before the South Niagara Rowing Club rowing season gets underway, about the second week of May.

He said the city wants to ensure the safety of the rowers and the general public and added a tender for the demolition of the bridge closes Tuesday.

"Residents may have seen interested contractors on and under the bridge getting a better sense of what it looks like in terms of taking the structure down," he said, adding it would help them figure out their tender bids.

The demolition work is highly-specialized, requiring cranes and barges. Nickel said the city has had great co-operation so far from agencies including St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corp., which still controls that area of the former Welland Canal.

Residents, he said, may also see Welland public works staff checking on the fencing at the bridge to ensure no one is trying to cross it.

Wednesday's open house in Dain City is at 5 Forks Rd. E. Doors open at 6 p.m. with things getting underway at 7 p.m.

He said it's first come, first served as far as seating goes in the Carrie Lynn Pinard Centre, which sits adjacent to the bridge.

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Nathaniel.Johnson@niagaradailies.com

905-684-7251 | @DaveJTheTrib