Edmonton’s High- and Low-Level bridges will need to be replaced: city officials
Posted May 20, 2026 9:34 am.
Last Updated May 20, 2026 9:48 am.
Over 110 years old, near the end of their lifecycles, and too expensive to rehabilitate.
That’s the prognosis for Edmonton’s High- and Low-Level bridges, meaning the iconic bridges will be getting replaced.
“With the High-Level Bridge being 113 years old, the Low-Level northbound bridge being 126 years old, they’ve run their course,” said Natalie Lazurko, with transportation planning and design at the City of Edmonton.
“So we’re looking to get as many years as we can while we spend the next few years doing the planning and design.”
A report to council on Tuesday showed it would cost the city $1 billion over the next 75 years to continue rehabilitating the High-Level Bridge.
Instead, councillors and city planners are being asked to spend the next few years figuring out replacements.
The bridges are still safe to drive and walk across for at least another 10-15 years.
The city says maintenance work will begin in 2027 on the Low-Level, and 2028 on the High-Level Bridge.
When it comes to replacing the river crossings, the City of Edmonton says it will do what it can to lessen traffic impacts.
“We’re building the new ones while we can still use the old ones, and so I think that should (allay) some of the concerns for folks in terms of their commute,” said Sara Nicols, the deputy city manager of infrastructure services.
Downtown councillor Anne Stevenson says while it will be hard to see an iconic piece of Edmonton’s skyline gone, council has time to figure out how to pay for it. She hopes the province and feds could provide some funding as well.
“We have a pretty good runway here, this isn’t something we’re going to have to fix in our current upcoming budget cycle. We do have some breathing room,” Coun. Stevenson said.
Repairs to the Low-Level Bridge were recently completed in 2025.
–With files from Darcy Ropchan
