johnnyboy
Active Member
Maybe that's why we need that Asian billionaire lady and her offbeat ideas to take over The Bay leases...
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- Thread starter Daveography
- Start date
Kosy123
Senior Member
We do have a unique advantage here that our downtown/core areas can actually support a lot more of these unique Asian retailers based on the large international student presence that we have in downtown and Strathcona.
Outside of downtown Vancouver, Richmond and Toronto, we actually have a good customer base for any of these.
Greenspace
Senior Member
Downtown residential demographic is also 25% Asian decent as well if I remember correctly.
policyenthusiast
Active Member
102 Avenue to close for Wellington Bridge Replacement
September 10, 2025
Beginning the week of September 15, 102 Avenue from 130 Street to 132 Street will close to all traffic as work begins on the replacement of Wellington Bridge [originally constructed in 1932].
The bridge has reached the end of its service life and must be replaced to ensure safe operation. During construction, 102 Avenue will be fully closed to vehicles, transit, pedestrians and cyclists. Construction is expected to be completed and the bridge reopened by the end of 2026.
When finished, the new bridge will feature improved safety and accessibility for all road users, including a shared pathway on the north side, upgraded traffic barriers, handrails and new streetlights.
Access and detours
• Vehicle detours are available via 142 Street, 124 Street, Groat Road and 107 Avenue.
• Pedestrians and cyclists can detour north on 130 Street/132 Street to 104 Avenue.
• The pathway under the bridge will be closed to ensure the safety of active mode users. Please use alternative trail routes.
• Local traffic can access 102 Avenue east from 142 Street to Tweedsmuir Crescent.
• To maintain a safe passage for pedestrians, vehicles will be prohibited from accessing 130 Street or 132 Street from 102 Avenue.
...
Satellite view
Pedestrian map
https://www.edmonton.ca/projects_plans/roads/wellington-bridge
Pretty major in-route to Downtown out of commission.
September 10, 2025
Beginning the week of September 15, 102 Avenue from 130 Street to 132 Street will close to all traffic as work begins on the replacement of Wellington Bridge [originally constructed in 1932].
The bridge has reached the end of its service life and must be replaced to ensure safe operation. During construction, 102 Avenue will be fully closed to vehicles, transit, pedestrians and cyclists. Construction is expected to be completed and the bridge reopened by the end of 2026.
When finished, the new bridge will feature improved safety and accessibility for all road users, including a shared pathway on the north side, upgraded traffic barriers, handrails and new streetlights.
Access and detours
• Vehicle detours are available via 142 Street, 124 Street, Groat Road and 107 Avenue.
• Pedestrians and cyclists can detour north on 130 Street/132 Street to 104 Avenue.
• The pathway under the bridge will be closed to ensure the safety of active mode users. Please use alternative trail routes.
• Local traffic can access 102 Avenue east from 142 Street to Tweedsmuir Crescent.
• To maintain a safe passage for pedestrians, vehicles will be prohibited from accessing 130 Street or 132 Street from 102 Avenue.
...
Satellite view
Pedestrian map
https://www.edmonton.ca/projects_plans/roads/wellington-bridge
Pretty major in-route to Downtown out of commission.
archited
Senior Member
A good overview article of the importance of MacU to Edmonton's downtown...
www.macewan.ca
The City is Our Campus
www.macewan.ca
IanO
Superstar
I CANNOT believe that this work is going forward given the current constraints and closures.
It's ludicrous to and having had to go to the west end a few times of late simply unaccaptable.
It's ludicrous to and having had to go to the west end a few times of late simply unaccaptable.
policyenthusiast
Active Member
Agreed. There is absolutely no way that bridge is in bad enough shape to warrant construction until 2027. Also am I nuts or wasn't this JUST under construction a year or two ago?
TAS
Senior Member
The bridge over Groat Rd on 102Ave was done nearly 10 years ago if that is what you mean.
I can't comment on your mental state.
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policyenthusiast
Active Member
Found it - I confused this bridge with the Stony Plain Road closure from 2022-23.
https://www.edmonton.ca/sites/defau...-Bridge-Construction-Notice.pdf?cb=1679514372
This one was also a massive pain in the ass for DT commuters.
thommyjo
Senior Member
Sucks for the bike route being lost too. Quite a detour around SPR to get back to 102ave.
But critical work and the new bridge will be so much better.
Still confused on how we couldn’t make this work to have the LRT up and running first. That would be a massive incentive to try the train and would remove thousands of daily vehicles. And transit isn’t the best alternative right now when all the buses are stuck in traffic too.
107-111ave are the routes to take if driving now.
But critical work and the new bridge will be so much better.
Still confused on how we couldn’t make this work to have the LRT up and running first. That would be a massive incentive to try the train and would remove thousands of daily vehicles. And transit isn’t the best alternative right now when all the buses are stuck in traffic too.
107-111ave are the routes to take if driving now.
CplKlinger
Senior Member
It actually is. It's been due for replacement since 2014, but the council of the day didn't allocate funding to replace it at the same time they were replacing the 102 Ave bridge over Groat. The city instead installed bracing and scaffolding to hold it up, and these are still in place 11 years later. By the time funding was on the table, the Stoney Plain Road bridge was due for its replacement, which was time sensitive due to the VLW project. The city was able to extend its life until the SPR bridge was finished, but admin told council that its too deteriorated for them to feel safe extending its life for even a few weeks, let alone until the VLW is open. I'm not surprised by that - if the temporary supports failed and the bridge collapsed while people were on it, what professional would want to be the one who allowed that bridge to stay in use? Council should have funded the replacement back in 2014, but we can't do anything about that now sadly.
Here's a picture of some of the scaffolding/supports, taken from admin's Feb. 25, 2025 presentation.
See my response above.
cliffapotamus
Active Member
I'll add that the abutments on the existing bridge show signs of movement. the concrete guard walls at each end of the bridge (over the encased embankment at each end of the bridge, not the arch proper) are out of alignment with each other by over an inch at most joints, with the concrete patches put in to cracks at the base falling out. these walls seem to be falling away from the roadway. I bike on this bridge twice a day to get to work, it's deteriorated noticeably just over the course of this summer. I'm guessing the foundations under the bridge are starting to fail, amongst all the other obvious issues with the concrete above grade.
positive1
Active Member
This is great! The sooner they do it, the cheaper it will be 
Will be good to have a continuous cross section along thatroad for both cars and bikes/pedestrians.
Will be good to have a continuous cross section along thatroad for both cars and bikes/pedestrians.TAS
Senior Member
Thanks for this context.