A town councillor, who also happens to be a structural engineer, is expressing concerns about the condition of a rail line that may soon see a substantial increase in oil shipments.

While part of the Cape Breton Central Nova Scotia Railway is being abandoned in September, the portion that runs through Port Hawkesbury could see more oil being shipped through the town to the oil terminal in Point Tupper.

But Joe Janega says he is worried about the condition of the rails and bridges on the line.

“I have very serious concerns with the structural integrity of the (Grand Narrows) bridge right now as it exists,” says Janega, who inspected the bridge and other rail bridges in April.

“I found serious concerns with the abutments of the bridge, the age of the bridge, lack of maintenance, which led me to believe we should do a thorough study.”

Janega, who deals with bridges, crawled over abutments and under the Grand Narrows bridge and says he was worried about what he saw.

“We see excessive corrosion, the laminations in the abutments in the wing walls, the connections are corroded to the point where rivets are gone,” he says.

Janega pointed out that concrete has shifted and it’s possible to put a hand or arm under a base plate for the Grand Narrows Bridge, which opened in 1890.

Port Hawkesbury Mayor Billy Joe MacLean is also expressing concerns about the state of the bridge.

“It may still be safe, but it’s been that way a long, long time without repair,” says MacLean.

There are other bridges that concern Janega, like the 99-year-old bridge at Ottawa Brook, near Grand Narrows. He believes trains should be steering clear of some of the bridges.

“If they can prove that this bridge in particular here or the rest of the system is safe to use, by all means.”

But Nova Scotia Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal Minister Geoff MacLellan says there are no signals at this point that the bridges are unsafe.

“The inspections that are taking place, they’re adequate, and they’re making sure that any issues that are identified are being handled,” says MacLellan.

“In January, the railroad company and now the province say there are reports that are available,” says Janega. “I want to see the reports. To date, nobody has ever seen a report.”

Janega and MacLean says their concerns are even more heightened with the news that there could be considerably more rail traffic over the rail line that runs through the middle of Port Hawkesbury.

“We are told by NuStar, that has a transshipment facility, that their traffic to their plant will quadruple over the next four to five years,” says MacLean.

NuStar has a petroleum terminal in Point Tupper. The company sent CTV News an email stating that it doesn’t have any immediate plans to significantly increase volume at its Point Tupper terminal, but is always discussing opportunities with customers.

Still, Janega and MacLean are worried about the condition of a 60-year-old bridge in Port Hawkesbury.

“I found serious concerns with the abutments of the bridge, the age of the bridge, lack of maintenance,” says Janega.

“You must go to bed at night and be comfortable that the rail going through your community is safe,” says MacLean.

Rail cars going to and from NuStar’s Point Tupper terminal pass through a number of communities, including Port Hawkesbury, Antigonish and New Glasgow, and trains have derailed on the line before.

A train derailed in Barneys River in 2010, and another derailed in New Glasgow last month. Several homes were also evacuated earlier this month after a train carrying a mix of propane and butane derailed in West River Station.

“We don’t want a Quebec incident in Nova Scotia from Truro to Sydney,” says MacLean, referring to the deadly derailment in Lac-Megantic last year.

In a letter to MacLean last week, MacLellan assured the mayor that all bridges and structures are inspected annually by independent engineers.

MacLellan told CTV News that the last inspection was in October, by 14 federal inspectors working for the province.

Cape Breton Regional Municipality Mayor Cecil Clarke has invited mayors, wardens, MLAs and MPs to discuss the railway at a meeting on Thursday.

With files from CTV Atlantic's Rick Grant