July 2025 Update

What’s happening now? (Update July 2025)

The District has started the process of finding a qualified contractor to repair and restore the Silver Bridge. An “Expression of Interest” (EOI) was recently released to gather submissions from contractors who have the experience and skills to do the work.

Contractors will provide information about their qualifications, and the District will use these submissions to create a shortlist of candidates. Those shortlisted contractors will then be invited to participate in the next stage of the process, where they’ll receive a detailed overview of the repairs required.

The contractor selection process is expected to continue through summer 2025, with site work anticipated to begin in fall 2025.

What have we done since?

Detailed condition assessments have confirmed that the primary issue is a failure at a connection point on the western truss. Specifically, both gusset plates on this truss were found to be sheared and buckled, which caused the western truss to shift out of alignment.

The District’s structural consultant, DM Wills(External link), has completed several important assessments to explore whether the bridge can be safely brought back into service:

Load Transfer Analysis: A model was developed to assess the bridge's current load capacity. The results confirmed that the bridge must remain closed until repairs or a replacement are completed.
Capacity Analysis vs. Modern Standards: Because of the bridge's age and later modifications (like the sidewalk), its capacity was analyzed against current Canadian Highway Bridge Design Code requirements. Early results suggest the bridge, in its original design, can meet modern traffic load standards.

While these findings support the potential for rehabilitation, further investigations are underway. For more technical details, you can review the findings in Council report 7(2025)-4(External link).