Official Fredericton, NB projects thread

[KnoxfordGuy]

I believe the population on both sides of the river is 50/50 now. As per the last few census'. 33,000/33,000.

[MonctonRad]

You guys are gonna need another bridge......

[KnoxfordGuy]

Oh brother. You're telling me. The PM bridge is down right so there is only one bridge in town. About 75,000 vehicles travel it right now. Temporarily mind you. But about 51,000 on an average weekday normally. It is the busiest bridge in New Brunswick. There was a study completed on the bridge in 2023 by UNB called: A TALE OF TWO BRIDGES: USING THE 4-STEP MODEL TO UNDERSTAND ACTIVE
TRANSPORTATION USAGE ACROSS THE WOLASTOQ/ST. JOHN RIVER IN FREDERICTON, NB. Just a Google search to read it.

[Taeolas]

Yeah about 10 years or so ago there was a study done that basically said a 3rd bridge crossing in city limits should be a medium term goal/target for the city and province. I don't think anything was done of it, but... well, we're now basically at the medium term.

All in all even with PMB down, I've found Westmoreland isn't TOO bad to cross... but I cross early (6-7AM) most days. In the evenings the bridge itself isn't usually too bad, but the zipper merge of Westmoreland street and Smythe street really clogs up the west end. I usually take Brunswick all the way to Regent and have smooth sailing up that way.

So yeah, I don't think we're quite at the stage where we absolutely NEED a 3rd bridge; but the governments should certainly be making the plans now, and acquiring the lands before the shoreline clogs up even more. Growth along Woodstock road seems to be speeding up which will make punching the bridge infrastructure through more difficult and expensive.

[KnoxfordGuy]

Downtown from Realtor.ca

[adamuptownsj]

Where would a third bridge go? The west end of town from 105 over the islands to Woodstock Road? Public access to the islands would be a cool addition. Didn't Fredericton acquire one for recreational purposes a year or two ago.

[OliverD]

Originally Posted by adamuptownsj

Where would a third bridge go? The west end of town from 105 over the islands to Woodstock Road? Public access to the islands would be a cool addition. Didn't Fredericton acquire one for recreational purposes a year or two ago.

I think this is the most logical spot. On the south side there is the empty space where the Woodstock Road Irving used to be. On the northside there are a couple of gaps in between the houses that are along the water.

The city bought Ross Island, which is the easternmost island shown below.

[MonctonRad]

That's pretty far west of the main population centres of the north and south sides. Is there nowhere closer it could go???

[OliverD]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

That's pretty far west of the main population centres of the north and south sides. Is there nowhere closer it could go???

Tough to do without cutting through established neighbourhoods.

This way you're effectively building a bit of a perimeter road as well. Much like how people in Devon and Barker's Point have quick access to both uptown and downtown, people in the western end of the city would have a similar option.

Putting the bridge further east would dump a lot of traffic onto Woodstock Road, with no easy access to uptown unless you somehow build a connection to Prospect Street West.

[adamuptownsj]

A new road from the bridge heading south past Springhill to the Route 8 would be needed, would it not? Or even OVER Route 8 to Hanwell or Woodside. Not sure what could be done on the north side.

[OliverD]

Originally Posted by adamuptownsj

A new road from the bridge heading south past Springhill to the Route 8 would be needed, would it not? Or even OVER Route 8 to Hanwell or Woodside. Not sure what could be done on the north side.

I don't think it would be necessary, at least not right away. Prospect connects directly to Route 8 which should be sufficient.

[Taeolas]

Looking at Google Maps, if a 3rd Bridge were to come in at the old Irving, which would probably be the ideal spot, then continuing the road up to Springhill road would be a natural extension. The way is clear now, aside from a small farmland area by the looks of it. Springhill looks like they intend it to be a main artery road eventually; especially once it's roundabout connection to Prospect is made, so linking it to the 3rd bridge is natural.

With the Springhill connection made, the city might consider opening that area up for Subdivisions/expansions, with the eye towards an eventual TCH connection at the big bend. But that wuold probably be a 10-20 years after the bridge is made.

The northside of the bridge could land basically between Pearl St and Grasse Circle; there doesn't seem to be any real development there, and latch on to 105 easily. (There might be an argument to bend it a bit and hook on to Pearl street and make that intersection the main one)

This location is only 6km or so from Westmoreland. It may feel a bit far, but there is a lot of growth going on in that end of the city, so it is probably warranted. (PMB is about 3km from Westmoreland downstream). The city may also want to consider establishing another commercial node in that area somewhere; maybe around where Springhill and the 3rd Bridge link up. That area would probably have the population necessary to support a drug store and probably a small supermarket, especially if it is also fed from the Northside.

[MonctonRad]

Makes sense, especially if things are done with long range planning in mind.

[OliverD]

Originally Posted by Taeolas

Looking at Google Maps, if a 3rd Bridge were to come in at the old Irving, which would probably be the ideal spot, then continuing the road up to Springhill road would be a natural extension. The way is clear now, aside from a small farmland area by the looks of it. Springhill looks like they intend it to be a main artery road eventually; especially once it's roundabout connection to Prospect is made, so linking it to the 3rd bridge is natural.

With the Springhill connection made, the city might consider opening that area up for Subdivisions/expansions, with the eye towards an eventual TCH connection at the big bend. But that wuold probably be a 10-20 years after the bridge is made.

The northside of the bridge could land basically between Pearl St and Grasse Circle; there doesn't seem to be any real development there, and latch on to 105 easily. (There might be an argument to bend it a bit and hook on to Pearl street and make that intersection the main one)

This location is only 6km or so from Westmoreland. It may feel a bit far, but there is a lot of growth going on in that end of the city, so it is probably warranted. (PMB is about 3km from Westmoreland downstream). The city may also want to consider establishing another commercial node in that area somewhere; maybe around where Springhill and the 3rd Bridge link up. That area would probably have the population necessary to support a drug store and probably a small supermarket, especially if it is also fed from the Northside.

Are you saying there's a planned Springhill/Prospect roundabout? That's the first I've heard of it.

I don't really see Springhill becoming an artery anytime soon. It's likely classified as a local connector, and it isn't even open year round on the western end. It's narrow, hilly, and twisty. Certainly not ideal for higher traffic volumes.

[KnoxfordGuy]

The PMB opened back up today! Several days early.

[Taeolas]

Originally Posted by OliverD

Are you saying there's a planned Springhill/Prospect roundabout? That's the first I've heard of it.

I don't really see Springhill becoming an artery anytime soon. It's likely classified as a local connector, and it isn't even open year round on the western end. It's narrow, hilly, and twisty. Certainly not ideal for higher traffic volumes.

My bad. I was misremembering the Patiance Lane roundabout that is in the works. That was supposed to be for '24-25 but I don't think I've heard anything about it recently.

I've never driven Springhill so I'm not familiar with the topology that way. But ultimately I suspect they may want to link up to something up there, to open it up for development and an eventual TCH link.

[adamuptownsj]

IIRC the only topographic challenge is the steep Garden Creek gully.

[StatelyElms]

I actually got to peek at some preliminary third bridge routing options a while back. I'm near certain they never had me sign an NDA or anything, but I don't want to chance it just to nerd out about bridges. I'll have you know it's very frustrating knowing the exact routes they've looked at but not knowing if saying something would spell disaster.

One thing I'm real curious about is how expensive the bridge will be, especially versus the benefits. A 1–1.5km (ideal perpendicular vs ideal intersection-to-intersection, jn the area you're talking about) crossing makes for a lot of bridge to build..

[OliverD]

Originally Posted by StatelyElms

I actually got to peek at some preliminary third bridge routing options a while back. I'm near certain they never had me sign an NDA or anything, but I don't want to chance it just to nerd out about bridges. I'll have you know it's very frustrating knowing the exact routes they've looked at but not knowing if saying something would spell disaster.

One thing I'm real curious about is how expensive the bridge will be, especially versus the benefits. A 1–1.5km (ideal perpendicular vs ideal intersection-to-intersection, jn the area you're talking about) crossing makes for a lot of bridge to build..

Oh c'mon, spill the beans.

[NB_ExistsToo]

It would be interesting to see how they would go about site location for the bridge. Ignoring the increased bridge length, you would think the logical landing spot on the Northside would be the Clement Dr/Sunset Dr intersection. This area could easily fit a roundabout. On the southside, I don't know how the Tim's and gas station would survive the bridge construction, they just seem to be in the way for the any off ramps.