• Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal is responsible for operating and maintaining more than 4,100 bridges on 23,000 kilometres of road in Nova Scotia.
• There are about 200 steel truss bridges in Nova Scotia, typically single-lane bridges built between 1880 and 1940.
• With regular repair and maintenance, steel truss bridges last more than 100 years.
• The flooding of March 31 destroyed and damaged about 49 bridges in Nova Scotia, including six major bridges, two of which were steel truss.
• Replacement decisions for steel truss bridges are based on condition, traffic volumes and operational factors.
• The Steel Truss Bridge Replacement Program is valued at $50 million over five years. In year one, funding will total $4 million; in year two, $7 million; and, in years three, four and five $13 million per year.
• Cost of a replacement bridge depends on length and alignment. However, replacement prices for concrete bridges range between $1 million and $2 million.
• Due to tight deadlines, bridges in the first two years of the program were required to meet certain criteria. They had to: sit on the priority list; require minimal alignment and minimal detours; require manageable permit requirements; and require a straight forward design.
• In addition to the steel truss program, the province is spending about $22 million this year on all other bridges in Nova Scotia, on everything from maintenance to major repair projects.
• The province has a formal inspection protocol that is undertaken by certified bridge inspectors.
• The province has a dedicated bridge inspection team, with about six full-time certified bridge inspectors in the field plus four bridge engineers at district offices and three structural engineers in Halifax.
• About 20 Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal employees are certified bridge inspectors and more are being trained each year. Certification is a result of an intensive two-week training program developed by the American federal highway administration. There is no Canadian equivalent.
• Bridges in Nova Scotia receive a major inspection every two to five years; area staff conduct visual inspections annually on bridges.
• The department plans to purchase in the near future a new electronic bridge management system to track and manage inspections, inventory, expenses and all other major data.

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