11 October 2007
Future of Sarnia Road Bridge in Question
Sarnia Ontario - A truck driver may have achieved what
city politicians have been trying to do for years - get the Sarnia Road bridge replaced.
The 103-year-old single-lane bridge is expected to be closed for up to three weeks while repairs are made
after a truck hit a guardrail.
CP Rail engineers were at the bridge today gauging the damage caused early Tuesday morning when a tractor-trailer driver
tried to take his rig across the single-lane bridge and ended up driving over a guard rail.
The truck - its weight well over the five-tonne limit - was stuck on the bridge for several hours. The driver was charged
with violating the weight limit.
The incident has sparked renewed calls for the bridge, owned by CP, to be replaced "the sooner, the better."
"It's a significant east-west artery in the northeast and it should be replaced, the sooner the better," said
Ward Coun. Paul Hubert.
Earlier this year, CP advised the city the bridge is sound and there was no need to replace it, although there has been some
suggestions it would be replaced in 2011.
"I think CP is going to have to move that up," said Hubert. "Because I think they're now recognizing the need for it.
Time has caught up with this piece of infrastructure."
The historic bridge was built in 1904 and is a priority 2 on the city's list of heritage structures.
It has also been the subject of driver frustration for years.
There are tight curves on the approaches to the bridge and drivers depend on the courtesy of each other to get across with lineups
during rush hour. The city has considered installing a traffic light.
Hubert said if it's rebuilt, the original structure should be left for use as a foot and bicycle crossing with a new,
two-way bridge part of a road realignment.
In August, Hubert and fellow rookie councillors Nancy Branscombe and Walter Lonc put city council on notice for the upcoming 2008
budget debate they want money set aside to replace or expand the bridge.
Staff said today the 2008 draft capital budget does include a small amount of money earmarked for preliminary designs of a new
structure.
A few years ago, city staff said the traffic in the area didn't warrant a new bridge. But the city's northwest has been booming with
new residential and commercial development for four years.
It's estimated a new, four-lane bridge would cost upwards of $9 million, which would be shared between the city and CP.
CP spokesperson Michel Spenard confirmed the bridge will be closed for two or three weeks but declined comment on whether the railway
will move up the replacement date.
The city's website shows that traffic along that stretch of Sarnia Road averaged 7,000-9,000 vehicles a day in 2002, the
most current year for traffic figures. But the population in the northeast has swelled significantly the last five years.
Hubert said he fears more and more drivers will start cutting through quiet neighbourhoods on streets not designed for large volumes of
traffic and cause safety concerns.
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