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Columbia Ave. to close overnight Sept. 21 for railway crossing repairs

Repairs to 17th Street crossing will close the road for 12 hours
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A portion of Columbia Avenue will be closed Sept. 21. File photo

The City of Castlegar will be closing a portion of Columbia Avenue overnight on Sept. 21 in order to accommodate repairs to the Canadian Pacific Railway crossing at 17th Street near Century 21.

The rubber surfacing that has been troublesome for quite some time at the railway crossing will be replaced with concrete panels.

The closure will take place when traffic is the slowest — from 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 21 through 7 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 22.

Electronic message boards will be placed on Columbia Avenue in advance of the closure to notify motorists.

“We know a closure will be inconvenient for some Castlegar residents and visitors and we hoped to keep the road open to single-lane alternating traffic,” says the city’s infrastructure manager Travis Christianson. “Unfortunately, this is not possible because safety is our top priority and the curve in the crossing requires custom panels that need to be aligned and adjusted together which means equipment will be constantly moving across the road.”

A detour along Highway 3, across the Kinnaird Bridge and Highway 3A by the West Kootenay Regional Airport will be in place. The detour may add approximately 10-15 minutes of additional travel time for drivers.

The city says it is working closely with emergency service providers and fire, ambulance and police responses will not be impacted during the closure.

The project will be completed by Canadian Pacific Railway.

To ensure a smooth transition for vehicles, asphalt paving at the crossing will take place Saturday, Sept. 24 from 7 a.m to 7 p.m. Traffic will be single-lane alternating and drivers can expect minor delays.

READ MORE: Two for mayor, seven for council on final Castlegar candidate list for 2022 municipal election



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