FORT ERIE, ON – American Bridge Company has been awarded an $80.5-million contract to rehabilitate the Peace Bridge – an international crossing connecting Fort Erie, Ontario and Buffalo, New York.

The work is part of a five-year, $186-million capital project and begins this month. No lane closures are expected until mid-October. Construction is to be finished by 2019 and will be completed in four stages.

“The rehabilitation project will be a coordinated effort between both sides of the border to ensure completion with minimal impacts on motorists, tourists, bus passengers and commercial carriers,” said Marc Garneau, Canada’s transport minister. “I am pleased to see this project moving forward on a bridge that is so important to the economies of both countries.”

“Having worked on the Grand Island bridges, this contractor knows Western New York’s labor and materials markets, as well as our region’s environmental conditions,” said Sam Hoyt, chair of the Peace Bridge Authority. “American Bridge Company is also a primary contractor on the new Tappen Zee Bridge and is well prepared to undertake the Rehabilitation Project, a project that will significantly contribute to our overall capital campaign objectives and the improvement of our span.”

American Bridge Company has also worked on projects including the Ogdensburg-Prescott International Bridge and the Seaway International Bridge.

Rehabilitating the Peace Bridge will involve everything from replacing structural steel to new traffic control gantries, and add a pedestrian walkway.