The province can giveth, and the province can taketh away.
Following a community meeting this week in St. George, it was announced the former plan to replace the Lower Bridge has been scrapped by the provincial government, and instead repairs will be made to the structure.
In July of 2018, the design of a replacement bridge was finalized as a single lane “bailey” bridge with an attached walkway.
The contract for the replacement bridge was awarded on November 9, 2018, and the bridge was delivered to the nearby DTI Garage in St. George in early January 2019.
By request of Town Council, the meeting gave MLA for Fundy-The Isles-Saint John West, Andrea Anderson-Mason an opportunity to update residents on the status of the bridge, along with officials from the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure.
Executive Director of Engineering for DTI, Serge Gagnon said the decking and road surface would be repaired, as well as the sidewalk, and a new coat of paint will be added, but the Province is no longer planning to replace the bridge.
The 109 year old Lower Bridge is best known for its vantage point overlooking the famous gorge in St. George.
The Gorge in St. George, a picturesque view taken from the Lower Bridge.
(Photo credit: Angel Berdan)
Mayor Crystal Cook says it’s disappointing, “A replacement bridge was purchased by the Province and project timelines were set. Now the Province is planning to simply repair a century old steel bridge and do some minor painting.”
She says she feels they have wasted years of meetings and time to end up where they started.
She says the new bridge plans would have removed the height and weight restrictions on the Lower Bridge, but repairs will not change the restrictions, which are currently set at 12 ton maximum and 3.4 metres in height.
The restrictions do not allow for emergency vehicles to cross over, and the sidewalk is currently closed due to structural concerns.
“If the bridge were safe and functional in the first place, why would we start these conversations years ago and why, once refurbished, will the restrictions still be in place?”
Mayor Cook tells us, at the meeting, provincial staff said the replacement bridge was “in the budget”, but now, “from a fiscal reality, this is the best option”.
The bridge repairs could start as early as September, and the bridge will need to be closed for two to three months during construction, but there is no word on if and repairs will be done to the foundation of the bridge.
The repairs are expected to extend the life of the bridge by ten years.
