You may have noticed the work happening on the 4th Avenue Bridge over the last few weeks and it's getting a little bit of attention. The City of Moose Jaw has hired an artist to refurbish the frescos on the Thunderbird Viaduct and yes, that's the real name of the 4th Avenue Bridge.

"We're looking at doing the 30 frescos and we've hired a local artist by the name of Rob Froese who's working on his Masters Degree in Calgary." explained Parks and Recreation Operations Manager Todd Muir.

"He's done six of them and he's doing all of the cement repairs and then he's painting them to match what the original paintings were."

Before and after

Muir said they had some delays trying to find the right kind of paint to ensure the work will last for years to come.  They had hoped to have it all done by the fall but work will likely have to continue in the spring, weather depending. While just six have been repaired so far, Muir says they are more than impressed with the quality.

"We had to approve that it was done acceptably to move on. I asked him about one of the brush strokes on there as I wasn't sure about it, the showed me a picture of the original... and that specific brush stroke was from the original artist so I'm very impressed that he's copied them to that level."

Before and afterThe frescos have become a sense of local pride for many residents on South Hill and a piece of history for the city. The originals were first installed back in 1929 and while they look like they've been seriously neglected, there was moment in their history when some restoration had been done.  Back in 1986, four of the frescos were restored but the project didn't go any further than that.

Time, road salt and vandalism have now taken their toll so there are many residents who are very excited to see the restoration project move ahead. The restoration is part of the South Hill Local Area Plan that was approved a few years ago following public consultations.  Muir says they've been given some limited funding and instructed to find projects that will give the best bang for the buck.

As far as the rest of the artistic pieces like the lamps and archways under the road surface, Muir says they'll have to be considered as a new project in the future.