‘This is unacceptable’: Sidewalk no long part of plan for Miramichi bridge

The refurbished bridge in Miramichi will apparently not have sidewalks.

It’s not for the faint of heart, but for many people who cross the Centennial Bridge on foot the narrow sidewalk is a vital means of travel.

Miramichi Mayor Adam Lordon said the massive project to refurbish the bridge has been going on for over a decade with multiple delays over multiple years.

Included in that is the fate of the sidewalk which has been in and out of the project a couple of times.

“There’s always been a sidewalk and we hope and think there should always continue to be one,” said Lordon.

But that may not be the case.

At a public information session held by the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure [DTI] on April 23, Lordon said it was revealed pedestrian and cyclist access to the bridge would not be part of the plan.

“Part of that update was that the sidewalk would now no longer be part of the project once again moving forward,” said Lordon.

Miramichi resident Amy Pike attended the meeting and didn’t like what she had to hear.

In a social media post, Pike said the main focus of the session was to discuss the upcoming bridge closures in 2026 and 2027.

“However the most jarring announcement was not the road closures, it was the fact that the province will be removing the sidewalks and not replacing them, removing all pedestrian and cyclist access to the Centennial Bridge,” said Pike in her post. “This is unacceptable.”

Pike said the sidewalks are used all year-round by pedestrians and cyclists to get to work on the opposite side of the Miramichi River.

In an interview with CTV News, Pike said there is another bridge that can be crossed, but it’s a 20 km detour.

“Which is just untenable for people who don’t have access to a personal vehicle,“ said Pike.

While it’s a vital means of travel for many, Pike said the sidewalks are in poor condition right now.

“Certainly it is scary to use the sidewalks, but people use it constantly, every day 365 days a year because it is such an important crossing for us,” said Pike.

Miramichi resident Zack Pleadwell thinks taking out the sidewalks on both side of the bridge is a bad idea.

“We need people to be able to go across that bridge for work, for travel and leisure. It’s a nice view up there on the bridge if it was safer for people to travel across it,” said Pleadwell.

Lordon said it’s understandable the community has concerns and he hopes the province will listen and look at options to see if they can have the sidewalk added back to the plans.

“We don’t want to decrease the level of service provided to the community,” said Lordon.

Lordon said there once was a plan for an extended suspension sidewalk off the side of the 58-year-old bridge, but it would have cost around $50 million.

That plan was scrapped he said as a cost-cutting measure.

As far as whether or not the current sidewalk is safe for pedestrians and cyclists, Lordon said he hoped part of the modernization and refurbishment of the bridge would be bringing pedestrian access up to a “modern safety standard.”

Jacob MacDonald, a spokesperson for DTI, said in an email to CTV News the department made the decision to not include a sidewalk during the Centennial Bridge Rehabilitation Project due to financial constraints.

“We received feedback when this news was shared during a recent open house in the community, and we are considering all that feedback and how to incorporate it into the bridge planning process,” said MacDonald.

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