St. Paul Street West (Regional Road 81) - GO Station Precinct Development Project
All Niagara Region projects

About the project

The Go Station Precinct project is a combined scope of work of four projects that Niagara Region and the City of St. Catharines are working on.

The works as part of the overall project include:

• St. Paul Street West CNR Bridge replacement (Niagara Region)
• St. Catharines Train Station / Transit Hub site works (Niagara Region)
• Station access road from Ridley Road to the Train Station / Transit Hub (Niagara Region and City of St. Catharines)
• Ridley Road reconstruction (City of St. Catharines)

These projects have been grouped for faster and more efficient construction. Separately, they would take up to seven years to complete. By combining them under one project, they are expected to be done within three years.

Niagara Region is leading the project because of its close relation to the St. Catharines Train Station redevelopment to a multi-model transit hub. Improvements to access the transit station via Great Western Street will be addressed.

Bridge replacement

Niagara Region completed a Municipal Class Environmental Assessment to replace the St. Paul Street West CN Rail Bridge in St. Catharines.

The bridge was originally built in 1922. It has undergone extensive inspection and evaluation showing it needed immediate replacement.

Load restrictions and lane closures were put in place in December 2022 due to its condition. In November 2023, Niagara Region and Canadian National Railway closed the bridge to all vehicles. This was due to the continuing deterioration of the structure and the significant risk to the health and safety of the public.

The replacement will address the aging infrastructure. It will also improve the roadway's vertical alignment and the retaining walls on all bridge approaches.

Project update

The Region has worked with the bridge owner, Canadian National Railway, and Bell Canada to have their utilities removed. Bell completed this work in September 2024.

In November 2024, the existing bridge was dismantled and removed, followed by construction of the new bridge.

Work to construct the bridge has been prioritized for completion within the overall project. It is expected to reopen to one-way traffic by the end of December 2025.

Project timeline