FREDERICTON -- New Brunswick's record-setting spring floods may have cost the province another one of its fast-dwindling covered bridges.
The province says a covered bridge over the Quisibis River near Riviere-Verte was damaged and will be replaced by a steel panel bridge.
The damaged bridge will be evaluated for possible repairs for pedestrian use.
The province says another covered bridge near Codys, N.B., will be restricted to pedestrian use after being damaged by flooding.
New Brunswick reportedly had about 340 covered bridges in the early 1940s, but now has fewer than 60.
Covered bridges remain a major part of tourism marketing for the province -- which calls them "kissing bridges" and offers a map of them.
The province says five roads remain closed because of flood damage, and at least one other new bridge will have to be built at a higher elevation in Edmunston, N.B.
"Over the course of the flood, 160 transportation assets were affected," Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Bill Fraser said in a statement. "Of those, 148 have been identified for remedial work."
