The Department of Transportation and Public Works today announced plans for a new multi-year program to address the ongoing maintenance condition of Island bridges.
"The Provincial Bridge Reconstruction Strategy has been developed in response to community needs to ensure the ongoing safety and quality of the Provincial Road Network," said Transportation and Public Works Minister Don MacKinnon in announcing the program. "By developing a long-term strategy to address deficiencies in our bridge inventory we can take a more effective, orderly approach that will enhance public safety and hopefully reduce the long-term cost to the taxpayers of a quality road network."
Staff from the Department of Transportation and Public Works have been busy for several months compiling and updating data on the state of bridges Island-wide. Out of that process several structures were identified that were in need of immediate attention.
Five bridge structures have been targeted for restorative work this season---Poplar Grove Bridge and Goff's Bridge in Prince County; the Dunedin Bridge in Queens County; Naufrage and Murray River in Kings County. A sixth bridge in St. Peters has been tentatively slated for work, subject to final confirmation of a federal-provincial agreement on infrastructure surrounding the new National Park in Greenwich.
"The life span of a bridge structure is generally longer than that of our roads. So as the amount of federal dollars available for capital repairs decreased our department has dedicated more of our resources to road work to address the immediate shortfall. We've stretched those resources as far as we can. Some of our bridge inventory is approaching the end of its life span so we're taking action to avoid a huge bill for taxpayers down the road," explained MacKinnon.
The five projects confirmed for work this year will cost approximately $3 Million which has been identified within the existing Department of Transportation and Public Works budget. The scope of work undertaken in future years will be dependent on the availability of resources.