After years of requests from community leaders and residents alike, the province will move ahead with plans to replace the Dunedin Bridge in St. Catherines during the 2008 construction season.
“It gives me a great deal of pleasure to make this announcement,” says Minister of Transportation and Public Works Ron MacKinley. “I lobbied for years to have this aging structure replaced. Now it’s time to step up and deliver what this community needs – a new, safer, modern bridge.”
The current bridge is at the end of its structural life. It’s narrow and has no shoulders, it’s subject to weight restrictions, cars have to slow down to safely cross it and, unlike modern concrete structures, the deck is made up of timber planks. The new concrete span will include shoulders and will allow two lanes of traffic to flow safely and smoothly over the structure.
“This department’s priority is to make Island roads as safe as possible,” says Minister MacKinley. “The new bridge will go a long way to improving road safety in the area.”
Department of Transportation and Public Works engineers will be on hand at the Long Creek Community Hall on Monday, January 28, from 7-9 p.m., to take questions from residents on the construction of the new bridge. They will also be taking questions on work planned for the intersection of Routes 9 and 19a in Long Creek. That work involves the re-alignment of the intersection to provide better sight-lines and safety for motorists.