Replacement timeline uncertain for decrepit Cape Breton bridge

People who live in Mira Gut, N.S., want replacing the community's collapsing bridge to be a priority for the provincial government.

Mira Gut is home to one of Cape Breton's most-used beaches. Until recent years, jumping off the bridge into the river was a rite of passage for many teenagers.

The bridge was declared unsafe this summer by the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal and has been closed even to foot traffic.

Until the latest inspection, the 140-year-old former railway bridge, one of 4,200 bridges in the province, had been deemed safe every year.

But locals who used it say the short but crucial bridge — it's just 96 metres long — has been failing for years.

Years of complaints

In the last year, the bridge has visibly dropped in one area by as much as a metre and its metal components are badly corroded.

"You can … just with your bare hands, pull pieces off the bridge that is now so rusted, it's falling apart," said Diana MacKinnon-Furlong, the president of the Mira Gut Rural Development Association.

"There was a situation this summer with children out on the sandbar and a piece of metal about the size of a car hood came floating up next to them. Now, a couple of days later, the bridge was closed."

At the time, MacKinnon-Furlong said, the community was told the closure was because the swing component of the bridge could no longer be opened for boat traffic. She said it was later learned that an underwater abutment had become dangerously corroded.

Josephine Kennedy of nearby Bateston says the bridge has been falling apart throughout her lifetime.

"I'm 60 years of age. I've been coming to this bridge now since I was about five years of age. I can't remember anything being done to that bridge other than planking replaced every few years," she said. "There should have been proper maintenance."

20-minute detour

The closure of the bridge has created a huge inconvenience, requiring a detour of about 20 minutes no matter which route is chosen.

"I have family on the other side," explained Helen Parpoulas. "So to go even — crazy as it sounds ­— [for] just a cup of tea, you got to go up 10 kilometres this way, over the highway, then down 10 kilometres. Anybody who's checking on any family members if they're ill or something, it's a real inconvenience for them."

Parpoulas's husband works in Glace Bay and usually travels about 30 to 35 minutes to get there. Now, that trip takes 45 or 50 minutes.

"Trying to find the best way, he's gone up and around, down Hornes Road — that takes too long. He's gone through Sydney, he's gone through Morrison Road, and that's not in good shape either.

"It's extra gas you're spending, extra wear and tear on the car, so it's adding up."

Winter is coming

There are other concerns too, about school buses and snowplows having to detour onto bad roads this winter. The bridge is also a link in the Marconi Trail coastal drive.

The Department of Transportation says the bridge will be replaced.

"We're going to remove the structure within the next couple of weeks and look at options for replacement on a go-forward basis," said Gerard Jessome, the department's district director.

Jessome could not offer a timeline for that replacement, but the people of Mira Gut say they've been told it could be three years before there's a new span across the river.

The Mira Gut bridge does appear on a list of Transportation Department bridge projects for 2018-19.