Concerns grow over condition of roads, bridges in Sherbrooke area
SHERBROOKE — Residents here continue to express concerns about local roads and bridges, including the bridge located on Hwy 7 at Archibalds Brook.
As reported in the March 20 issue of The Journal, one side of that bridge has a heavy lean, with pavement crumbling and chunks of it missing in spots – and it’s been visibly worsening since.
Lois Ann Dort travels Hwy 7 for work in Sherbrooke each week.
“When I drive to work there on Fridays, I feel I should get danger pay. I can’t imagine how residents feel,” she stated in a recent letter to Greg Morrow – MLA for Guysborough-Tracadie, which she shared with The Journal. She expressed her worries about the state of the Archibalds Brook bridge and included mention of the deteriorating pavement at the bottom of Cochrane Hill in Melrose, just before Stillwater.
“As these dangerous sections have cones, clearly public works knows about them,” Dort wrote. “The cones have been in place for months and the road continues to deteriorate.”
Despite residents' concerns and requests that the bridge at Archibalds Brook get repaired or replaced sooner rather than later, according to provincial public works media advisor Gary Andrea, there is no change to the province's plans for that bridge.
“Archibalds Brook bridge remains on the capital replacement program for 2027-28, as part of plans to prioritize replacements on Trunk 7,” he shared with The Journal in an email reply to questions.
Several residents have expressed concerns to this newspaper, including worries about the potential for vehicles going off the bridge and into the brook, the bridge collapsing, or tractor-trailers or motorcycles hitting the holes, where the pavement is disappearing off the bridge.
Dort noted in her letter that three weeks earlier she could see the top of the cone at the bottom of Cochrane Hill, “And, now I see only the tip of the bottom,” noting it does not appear to her that public works is keeping an eye on the situation.
As for the bridge located at Archibalds Brook, Dort indicated that the bridge “not only has increasingly large holes, but the guardrail is leaning further and further away from the road.”
The Journal reached out to Morrow for a comment on the concerns expressed in Dort’s letter.
“I heard from concerned residents, and reached out to local public works staff,” he replied. “As a result of the bridge engineer’s assessment, they determined the issue is with the outside rail. I’ve asked public works staff to determine if there are temporary improvements that can be made until the bridge is completely replaced during the 2027-28 construction season.”
The Journal reached out to the municipality for comment on the concerns of citizens about the roads and bridges in question.
“The maintenance and management of roads and bridges is handled by the provincial department of public works,” said Warden Greg Wier, sharing that the municipality has a strong relationship with the department of public works “thanks to the department’s willingness to share information when needed especially when services overlap such as road access updates that could impact municipal curbside trash collection.”
As for the bridge in question, “The municipality has not been consulted about the bridge at Archibalds Brook,” said Wier.
Joanne Jordan, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Guysborough Journal
