Restoration of 118-year-old pedestrian bridge begins

Work on a historic tourist bridge in Goderich is underway. As CTV London's Scott Miller reports, the Menesetung Bridge attracts thousands of tourists annually.

Goderich’s famous Menesetung Bridge is closed and will remain closed all summer long as crews work to restore the 118-year-old structure.

“It’s really a focal point for the community. At one time it was seen to be somewhat derelict. It was going to be demolished, and now, of course, it’s been preserved. And it will be for generations to come through this massive overhaul,” said Menesetung Bridge Association Board Member John Smallwood.

Smallwood was amongst a small but mighty group of volunteers that saved the 750-foot-long bridge that spans the Maitland River in Goderich from the wrecking ball in the early 1990s.

The trestle bridge, the largest such bridge of its kind when it was built, supported trains from 1907 to 1988 before being turned into a pedestrian bridge in 1992.

“A thousand people were involved in its construction. Fifty teams of horses were used. The original concrete, which you’ve seen people working on today, was simply stone and sand out of the river with lime, and that was the concrete,” said Smallwood.

Starting last week, a team of five began chipping away the damaged concrete from the tops and bottoms of the four piers that support the 250-tonne structure, before replacing and reinforcing the piers with new concrete.

It’s a painstaking process that will take between 16 and 20 weeks to complete, which means the popular Menesetung Bridge will be closed until at least September.

“It is a very busy place and many people are missing it already. There were a lot of people up here the weekends before it closed to have their last walk across for a while, and the five trails, as you know that go across this bridge. And so, all the trails have had to make alternate plans for their events this summer. And they’ve all been very good about that, but the trails are still open and there are detour signs all over,” said Marian Lane, chair of the Menesetung Bridge Association.

“Years ago, it was estimated that about 12,000 people a year use the bridge. Now, it’s probably around 30,000, because we have people regularly biking in from Guelph and people coming up for the day,” said Smallwood.

While there will certainly be minor maintenance to be done over the years, it’s hoped that this major restoration work will keep the bridge open to the public, for many, many, decades to come.

“It’s a monument, but it’s a living monument to people in the community and to people who are active in the community. And and we’re very proud of what we’ve done,” said Smallwood.

The overall cost of the restoration work is $990,000, which $750,000 of has been raised. Lane said they’re more than optimistic they’ll reach their fundraising goal shortly.

While at first there was only enough money to fix the tops of the piers, enough has been raised to complete work on the bottom of the piers this summer as well.

“What we’re really proud of is, as I say, is taking history and preserving it for generations to come,” said Smallwood.

You can learn more about the project, how to donate, and trail detours by visiting their website.