Historians hope to save N.B. covered bridge from collapsing

Raymond Boucher has been fascinated with covered bridges for most of his life and he doesn't want to see the one near his Riverview, N.B., home swept away.

“It's a heritage structure. It should be saved because of its uniqueness in New Brunswick and it is unique in New Brunswick,” said Boucher.

The William Mitton covered bridge was transported to its current site in 1942 and was bypassed with the current road alignment of Route 112 in the early 1980s.

It’s not part of the province’s active route system.

Beams are broken, wood is rotting, and one side of the floor is greatly slanted.

Boucher, who is the president of the Covered Bridges Conservation Association of New Brunswick, believes high flood waters could cause it to collapse into the Petitcodiac River.

He consulted with engineers a few years ago who told him it could be saved with a crane or two at a cost of roughly $350,000.

“The initial idea is to drag it to the other side so that it's on solid ground rather than over the water and do the repair from there. Whether it gets done or not, we don't know,” said Boucher.

The William Mitton covered bridge is pictured. (Derek Haggett/CTV News Atlantic)

Boucher said New Brunswick had 340 covered bridges in 1953, but now there are only 59 left.

“The only other province in Canada that has any number is Quebec. There's one in Ontario, one in B.C. and 81 in Quebec and 59 here. That's it. We're the second largest,” Boucher said.

Lawren Campbell, the president of Association Heritage New Brunswick, said the unique style of architecture on the Mitton covered bridge isn’t seen elsewhere in the province.

It was the only way certain farmsteads in the area could access Riverview, Salisbury and Moncton.

Covered bridges like the Mitton were links between rural communities to transport goods and to see friends and families, he said.

“They were a web, really the old fashion world wide web locally to connect these communities together,” said Campbell. “In all of these communities, these bridges represented historic links to the rest of the province. And as these bridges disappear, naturally, neglect, what have you, you're losing these links historically from one community to another.”

The William Mitton covered bridge is pictured. (Derek Haggett/CTV News Atlantic)Raymond James has lived across the street from the bridge for 49 years and said it’s seen better days.

“It's pretty sad looking. It should be either taken down or fixed, one or the other. Leaving it like that is terrible,” said James.

Department of Transportation and Infrastructure spokesperson Tyler McLean said the bridge has been closed to traffic since the 1980s.

He said his department, “Currently has no plans to refurbish the bridge.”

However, McLean said Transportation Minister Richard Ames plans to meet with Boucher’s association at some time to discuss the future of the bridge.

"I'd also like to see the Department of Tourism jump in on this as well because of the tourism value," said Boucher.

Campbell said the province’s covered bridges are popular with tourists and locals.

“People use it for photos and for graduations and wedding photos, so they’re still an integral part of the community,” said Campbell. 

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