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Winter repair and maintenance work is underway on two Welland Canal locks and three bridges, resulting in some closures.

According to St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation manager of media relations and communications Nicole Giroux, the SLSMC is investing over $350 million in infrastructure, with $180 million in the Welland Canal region and more than $170 million in the Montreal to Lake Ontario region.

The investment is to maintain and upgrade locks, bridges and energy systems for safety and reliability. This winter marks year two of the project that began in April 2024 and is due for completion in March 2027.

The winter 2026 Welland Canal components include:

• Rehabilitation work to the main steel tower pockets of the Clarence Street Bridge bridge, resulting in its full closure until March 14.
• Installation of hands-free mooring units (remote-operated vacuum pads that hold ships in place during lock transits) at Lock 8 until March 20. This involves concrete demolition preparation and painting.
• Structural and steel repairs to the Carlton Street Bridge, resulting in full closure until Feb. 17.
• Installation of new floor anchors to Lock 1 until March 14.
• Communication system upgrades at the Glendale Avenue Bridge until Feb. 25.
• Lakeshore Road Bridge inspection and bridge counterweight buffer replacement until March 4.
• Replacement of a pedestrian bridge deck that is part of the Welland Canal’s Trail Weir 25 near Lock 7 until Feb. 7.

For this and other projects and maintenance work, the SLSMC works with a variety of regional contractors and service providers that are selected through a tendering process.

“Winter work on Seaway infrastructure is complex and often requires adaptation to challenging conditions,” said Luc Boisclair, SLSMC vice-president of engineering and technology.

“Our teams, at times, must make adjustments to ensure this critical work is completed safely and effectively. This essential work keeps the system reliable for years to come, supporting our communities, supply chains and the movement of goods across the Great Lakes St. Lawrence region to the world.”

The SLSMC has contracted Rankin Construction Inc. for many of the Welland Canal components.

“We currently have six contracts with the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation worth a total of almost $9 million for the 2026 non-navigation period,” said Bill Snow, Rankin’s senior vice-president.

The St. Catharines-based company, who specialize in heavy civil construction projects, will be undertaking:

• Lock 1 floor anchors for stop log slots.
• Lock 8 hands free mooring.
• Weir 25 bridge deck replacement.
• Lock 1, 2 and 3 tree removal and dyke repairs.
• Townline tunnel east side discharge pipes and outfall replacement.
• Miscellaneous civil work (various small emergency-type repair jobs).

Snow explained the bulk of the work can’t start until the second half of January, due to a delay in the close of navigation related to ice issues in the Montreal area. Those issues delayed ship traffic needing to clear through the Niagara Locks (Locks 1 to 8) and proceed into Lake Erie. He added most of their work must be completed before the locks are re-watered in early March, ahead of the 2026 navigation season.

“We expect to have over 100 workers working on the various projects with some projects requiring six-day weeks and two shifts per day. We do not anticipate having labour shortages for this work as we have enough skilled and experienced workers available for our projects,” said Snow, referring to the recently reported shortage of trades workers in the Niagara Region.