With a section of it falling into the water, the Mira Gut Bridge will soon be no more.
The Nova Scotia government says the structure will be removed in a matter of weeks.
"The bridge is inspected on a yearly basis,” says Gerard Jessome of the Nova Scotia Department of Transportation. “Over the past number of years we spent quite a bit on maintenance. But the structure itself is about 140 years old, so it's past due its time."
The bridge has been closed since August, but government announced Monday it will never reopen. Local residents say they’ve been worried for years something like this might happen.
"I kind of say a little prayer before I cross that bridge,” says resident Josephine Kennedy, “just hoping to God I get to the other side before it lets go."
With the bridge gone, residents are forced to take a 20-minute detour. But they’re more concerned about the delay for first responders, as the community is heavily populated with beaches on both sides of the bridge.
"There's school busses, there's snow plow drivers – they got to go all the way around,” says local resident Helen Parpoulas. “I don't know what's going to happen. It's going to be a fun winter, that's for sure."
Many feel the bridge should have been replaced long ago.
"If they had have done proper maintenance, we wouldn't be looking at that bridge falling in today," Josephine Kennedy says.
With no timeline yet for a replacement and no word on whether there will be a temporary span, residents are left waiting to find out what will be done to bridge the gap.
"We are now a community logistically divided," says local resident Diana MacKinnon-Furlong.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Ryan MacDonald.
