“SAVE OUR TRAIN BRIDGE & SAVE TAX DOLLARS!”
Thank you everyone for showing your support to our delegation before Council on Feb 4th. We wanted to provide an update, in two parts; one email this week and another next week. This is a lengthy email with supporting documents, and links. We felt it was important to share as much information as possible.
Our focus has been on lobbying Town Council to support repairing the bridge for pedestrian use, and not demolishing and removing it.
What’s Happening with Saving Our Bridge?
Since you signed the petition many months ago, we have conducted extensive research, documented the bridge condition and held multiple meetings with the Town Council, councillors, residents and visitors. We presented council with a plan to save the bridge while saving money. However, it is not apparent why they do some things the way they do, and where they stand on saving or demolishing.
How Did “SAVE OUR TRAIN BRIDGE’ Start?
In August 2024, five residents of Gananoque began to question why the town was planning to tear down the bridge. It was a popular walking route that provided excellent accessibility to the lower town and the waterfront. We then discovered that council had budgeted $2.6 million to remove the bridge and NOT replace it. At various times and in different reports, the number is shown as $2.2 million, $2.5 million or $2.6 million. Verbally, council will say it could go as high as $4 million. Whatever the number, it’s being paid from your taxes and there will be no bridge to use if they aren’t stopped. Let’s pick one number for now; the lowest at $2.25 million and see what could happen differently. SOTB began to grow, and in October, we started the petition to save the King Street Pedestrian Bridge. Michael Roney, a retired CPR bridge engineer saw our petition and volunteered to help.
Mr. Roney and his oft business partner thought the costs to demolish the bridge were inflated for some reason and that this bridge, like thousands they had worked on couldn’t be beyond salvation. Mr. Roney’s associate is Dr. Nigel Peters, former head engineer for Canadian National Railways who holds a doctorate in bridge construction. Who knew such a person existed? We were so happy that we would be able to show the town a real solution, with former engineering heads of both CPR and CNR volunteering to help.
What is the Town Council’s Position?
The town allocated a budget for 2024 showing $2.25 million to demolish the bridge. They explain that the change in budget is due to monies being spent on consultants and reports. The Town does not have $2.25 million (and possibly much more) available; those funds will have to come from increased property taxes. The Town tells us the cost is high because it will take special equipment to be brought in to reach over the Gananoque River to slowly and carefully remove the bridge. That’s because the top railroad ties (the sub-deck) are treated with creosote and must be transported by an environmentally secure truck to a facility in Sarnia to burn and scrub the remains. Also, the original bridge paint likely contains lead, and it will need to be handled with kid gloves to dispose of it while ensuring not even a flake of paint falls in the river.
Above: December 2023 Proposed Capital Items
The above link will take you to the Special Council Meeting Agenda held on Jan 9, 2025 with background notes and various motions past and present