Miramichi residents demand sidewalks for refurbished Centennial Bridge

A number of people in Miramichi are concerned over bridge repair plans because they don’t include a sidewalk.

About 100 demonstrators gathered Sunday in Miramichi, N.B., calling for the provincial government to include sidewalks in a plan to refurbish the Centennial Bridge.

Right now, there are sidewalks on both sides of the 58-year-old span connecting Douglastown and Chatham.

In April, residents learned sidewalks were not included in the bridge’s perpetually delayed rehabilitation plan, with the provincial government calling it a cost cutting measure.

Demonstrators walked and wheeled a portion of the bridge’s sidewalk on Sunday through wind and rain. Sadie Rose, an organizer of the demonstration, said residents don’t accept the province’s cost saving explanation.

“This is not over. Removing accessibility is not an option,” said Rose. “Accessibility is important for seniors, for young people, for everybody in our community.”

During question period in the legislature on Friday, Progressive Conservative Miramichi East MLA Michelle Conroy said removing sidewalks from the bridge’s refurbishment plan would negatively impact the community.

“The people of Miramichi deserve the independence to safely walk across that bridge,” said Conroy.

“The lack of transportation is talked about in most of our departments, and all of our meetings, and instead of pushing to knock down those barriers, this government is knocking down people’s independence.”

In response, Transportation Minister Chuck Chiasson said finishing the bridge’s refurbishment as soon as possible was the government’s top priority.

“That bridge needs to be finished, we need to complete the project,” said Chiasson. “That being said, I would be more than willing to engage the community on transportation solutions for the community.”

Chiasson said the previous PC government did not budget for sidewalks in the bridge’s refurbishment plan. Conroy disagreed, saying: “It needs to be in there, and it was in there, and we were in the meetings to prove it.”

Miramichi Mayor Adam Lordon previously told CTV News there once was a plan for an extended suspension sidewalk off the bridge’s side, at a cost of around $50 million.

An estimated 13,000 vehicles cross the Centennial Bridge daily.

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