A section of the Queensway will be shut down during the upcoming August long weekend as crews work to rapidly replace the worn-out Clyde Avenue overpass in 17 hours.

Last summer, crews made history when they replaced the Island Park overpass in the same amount of time.

"There were literally hundreds of people that showed up to watch," said Frank Vanderlaan, spokesperson for the Ontario Ministry of Transportation.

Replacing the bridge in record time was made possible by well-planned preparation and special equipment.

The two 650-tonne bridges were put into place using specialized machines which were used to lift and remove the old overpass, and insert the new bridges.

Now, the same technology will be used to replace the Clyde Avenue bridge, which has been worn out by 50 years of salt and corrosion.

  • EXTENDED COVERAGE: Watch the full time lapse of the Island Park overpass replacement project

The design consultant for the project says the new overpass will be much more durable than the one it's replacing.

"By eliminating the expansion joint here, we're able to improve the riding surface and also the durability of the bridge so salt water doesn't penetrate down below," consultant Michel Vachon told CTV Ottawa.

The new bridges are currently being assembled at a nearby staging area. The replacement project will close the Queensway from Carling Avenue to Maitland Road on Saturday, Aug. 2. Two lanes of the highway are expected to reopen by 11 a.m. the following day.

The project is expected to cost about $9.6 million. Officials say if they decided to move forward with a two-year replacement project, the cost for a new overpass would have likely doubled.

The same technology will also be used to replace the Carling and Kirkwood Avenue bridges which are slated to begin construction as early as 2010.

With a report from CTV Ottawa's Aliya Jiwan