Inspectors are hoping to determine what caused a 10- to 15-centimetre crack in a relatively new downtown Calgary pedestrian bridge.

George C. King Bridge — the bridge named after Calgary’s second mayor that connects East Village and Bridgeland across the Bow River — was closed on Aug. 16.

Now, Calgary Municipal Land Corporation (CMLC) inspectors say the bridge will remain closed until Sept. 5 for a temporary repair after the crack was found on a cross-strut near the bridge’s southwest corner. 

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The four-year-old, $25-million bridge was due for a routine inspection in October, the agency said, but the inspection timeline was moved up after someone spotted the crack and called 311. 

Its last inspection, two years ago, found no problems.

“I’m pretty shocked, I’ve never seen anything like this,” said Michael Brown, president and CEO of CMLC.

“We don’t expect with a piece of infrastructure that’s four years old, we expect if there’s a problem it’s going to be earlier on or it’s going to be later, we don’t expect to see it now. So we need to get to the bottom of this.”

Workers with CMLC, engineering firm WSP and Graham Construction are going to brace the area surrounding the crack with rods and cables, to hold it together. The temporary fix is estimated to cost between $20,000 and $30,000, and should keep the bridge safe for the public. 

Keep reading on CBC News

 

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