Cramahe Township Mayor Mandy Martin couldn’t contain her excitement as she watched the bridge being stalled east of Colborne on Tuesday, June 20, 2023.
The CN bridge on Barnes Road, south of County Road 2, east of Colborne has been in the works for a number of years.
In fact, some people said that it would never happen.
“I am so excited,” said Martin after watching the construction workers installing the main part of the bridge for nearly two-hours.
“This is the apex of everything I have been working for as an elected official.”
The bridge has been closed off for nearly 15-years because the bridge was deemed unsafe.
“We were told way back when, and for years, it’s impossible, it’s much money, it’ll never get done.”
But Martin said, “here we are – and it’s coming to fruition.”
The total cost of the bridge is $6,175, 820 with CN paying $5,249,447 and the Township paying $926,373.00.
“I’m just thrilled.”
Martin gives credit to the staff of Cramahe.
“We took the advice of our own staff who came up with solutions. When we talked to CN, we said, “we will do the approaches to the bridge.”
“We will be responsible for that. We can do it.”
“It wasn’t just a project that we handed over to CN – we worked collaboratively.”
Everything has been thought of, including the re-routing of a small creek for the construction.
“I think it’s because of the input of our own staff who studied the lay of the land. You don’t just take the word of a engineer somewhere off-site or a consultant off-site. Our people know what’s happening here, on the ground.”
With Dagmar Construction, CN, and the metal workers, Martin said, “it’s a team collaborative approach and they are all working together.”
By the end of this year, after replacing the unsafe one lane bridge, they should be a brand-new lane-and-a-half bridge that will accommodate 28 hours to the south.
“This will be huge.”
Around the railway areas of Cramahe there are boggy areas where sometimes railway cars uncouple and cause crossings to be blocked. But with the overhead bridge being installed, the area to the south will have “much more secure protection” in terms of emergency services.
The bridge is expected to be completed by the Fall.
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
