Covered bridge to be dismantled, new bridge to be complete by early summer

A covered bridge in southeast New Brunswick is slated to be dismantled.

A 122-year-old covered bridge in southeast New Brunswick is slated to be dismantled.

In an email to CTV News, Department of Transportation and Infrastructure (DTI) spokesperson Jacob MacDonald said they’ve recently made the decision to dismantle the Shepody River #3 covered bridge.

Located near Riverside-Albert, the 19-metre bridge was closed last June after a regular inspection.

“Sometimes referred to as the Midway/Germantown Lake covered bridge, it was closed following the identification of significant structural deterioration,” said MacDonald.

MacDonald said the covered bridge will be replaced with a single-lane modular bridge with work expected to begin on-site as early as this coming week.

“Completion is anticipated by early summer,” he said.

Last June’s closure forced about a dozen people who live in the area to take a roughly 30-minute detour to get to Route 114 – the road to Moncton.

Among those impacted by the bridge closure are seniors Hilyard and Sylvia Rossiter.

On Saturday, their daughter Stephanie said the family is thrilled to hear the news.

“Beyond relieved actually. It means a safe crossing for my parents, without having to worry about traveling that Midway Road another spring and winter. We can’t wait for work to begin,” she said.

The William Mitton covered bridge in Riverview was torn down in late February because it couldn’t be saved.

The bridge had been out of service since the 1980s and had fallen into disrepair since then.

It hadn’t serviced traffic in decades and was no longer needed.

Raymond Boucher, the president of the Covered Bridges Conservation Association of New Brunswick, said the William Mitton covered bridge was likely around 100 years old.

“As much as we want to save them all, some are just not savable I guess,” said Boucher on Feb. 26.

Boucher said there were 343 covered bridges in the province back in the 1950s, but only 58 remain.

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