Concerns about a covered bridge that was damaged in October have prompted the New Brunswick government to conduct a structural review of all covered bridges in the province.
The New Brunswick government announced Friday that they will repair the iconic Hammond River covered Bridge #2 in French Village, rather than replace it with a more modern structure.
“Overwhelmingly there was support to repair and maintain the covered bridge,” says Bill Fraser, New Brunswick’s Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure.
The 104-year-old Hammond River covered Bridge #2 was damaged in October when an overweight excavator fell through its wooden deck.
“Well we’re very happy about that, we asked for it to be repaired,” says French Village resident Bill Marr.
People in the area were asked to give their input and choose between a covered bridge or a modern modular bridge. They were told both options would cost roughly the same at $1 million.
“It’s been here for years. It’s heritage. It’s part of the community,” says Marr.
The proposed modern bridge could have been up and running by next spring. Repairing the covered bridge will likely take until next fall.
Fraser says an inspection of the bridge found “significant deterioration, unrelated to the damage done in October.” He has now ordered that every covered bridge in the province go through an infrastructure review.
The Department of Transportation and Infrastructure maintains 58 covered bridges across the province.
“That will help preserve them so that they will be here, that they’re looked over and they keep checking them to make sure they’re in good shape,” says French Village resident Gail Marr.
Bill Fraser says the review will begin in the New Year.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Nick Moore
