Province provides temporary solution for N.B. road closure

Motorists in the Sackville and Dorchester, N.B., area received some good news on Friday.

A temporary bridge will be put in place on Route 106, the main road that connects the two communities.

That route was closed on April 1 after heavy rains in late March damaged a culvert.

In a Facebook post, Tantramar Mayor Andrew Black said the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure (DTI) will install a bailey bridge on one side of the washout section on the road.

Black said the process has a few steps to it.

"Consultant design work, shipping of the bridge pieces and then work and placement," stated Black in Friday's post.

Black said the tentative start date is May 28 and the project will likely take four to five weeks to complete with the tentative end date of July 2.

"It should be noted that this will be a single lane bridge, but it will allow the road to be open," said Black.

Black said both he and Tantramar-Memramcook MLA Megan Mitton have pushed for a temporary solution.

"Now we have a solid date to hold DTI accountable on, a road opened for the lead in of the busiest time for tourism season, and the bridge will remain open while the reconstruction of the road begins when DTI is ready to do so for mid-September," said Black.

In May, Mitton told CTV News the road closure and nearby detour route were major concerns.

“It’s closed for the foreseeable future. It is inconvenient for travelling. There’s concerns about safety. I think there’s worry about the oncoming tourism season,” said Mitton on May 6. "This is a priority."

According to NB 511, the provincial website that updates motorists on traffic and construction projects, the anticipated end time on the culvert repair is Sept. 3.

For more New Brunswick news visit our dedicated provincial page.