New Brunswick covered bridge reopens after being closed since 2018

One of New Brunswick’s covered bridges has reopened to travellers.

The Starkey covered bridge had been closed since 2018 after floods ravaged the bridges entrances. The structure itself sustained damage, but remained standing. Now, it has been restored for residents and tourist to enjoy.

“Excited is not the word I would use, ecstatic is more like it,” says Raymond Boucher, president of the Covered Bridges Conservation Association of New Brunswick. “We are the last province in Atlantic Canada that has any covered bridges, no one else does, so it’s something to be proud about.”

Built in 1912 and measuring 41.5m in length, the Starkey Bridge is one of 58 covered bridges that remain in New Brunswick. Seventy years ago there were more than 300 of these bridges around the province, making those that remain standing increasingly important.

The community, with help from the Covered Bridges Conservation Association of New Brunswick, made their voices heard over the past few years to ensure the bridge wasn’t forgotten.

“A lot of people that live close to a covered bridge have lived there all their lives,” Boucher says. “They’ve swam underneath that bridge, they’ve fished underneath that bridge, from the time they are able to actually able to walk away from the house and go and enjoy themselves they are there all the time.

“A lot of local people really feel as if the covered bridges, it belongs to them.”

Tim Clancy is one of those residents, and was pleased to see the historic structure back in operation.

“It’s part of the heritage of New Brunswick,” he says. “It’s part of the character, part of the charm, and small communities are very proud as we like to showcase what we have and having the covered bridge helps.”

Being just a few minutes off the Trans Canada Highway, Clancy says the bridge’s restoration will save commuters upwards of an hour a week in travel time. It will also bring tourist to the rural community, which will hopefully lead to an economic bump.

“It will be fantastic,” says Suzanne Steeves, owner of the Thistle Hill Gift Shop down the road from the bridge. “It’s handcrafted as well, so is everything else we carry in the shop so having something like that for photo opportunities and things is great.”

Of the 58 covered bridges in the province, Boucher says only two of them are deemed national historic sites. He says the association will fight to get as many of these bridges the national designation to ensure their protection for future generations.

“As a heritage structure they are just as important as a school, or a church, or a politician’s house or a doctor’s house that is being preserved through historical means,” says Boucher.

It’s a sentiment Clancy strongly agrees with.

“I think it is really important to fight for every covered bridge,” Clancy says. “We need to save every covered bridge that we can to keep that heritage alive.”

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