Anyone wanting to cross the Thames River in Chatham will have to wait a little longer to use the Third Street Bridge.
The Municipality of Chatham-Kent announced on Thursday that the bridge will remain closed until July 22. The Third Street Bridge has been closed since May 3, 2021, as it undergoes a $14 million rehabilitation project.
The municipality said last month that the bridge was expected to reopen by the end of June, however, a three-week strike of the International Union of Operating Engineers in May prevented concrete pump trucks from arriving to pour the concrete bridge deck.
The rehabilitation project has been plagued with several delays over the last year, with the bridge initially expected to partially reopen to traffic in November of 2021.
The pandemic presented several challenges for the contractor, including labour and material shortages. The project was also met with delays due to a flood in September causing a build-up of debris in the river.
The bridge has undergone maintenance several times since its original construction in the 1960s. Most recently, the bridge was closed for several months in 2018 for repairs.