Bolsover left divided after Parks Canada opts to not rebuild swing bridge

The village of Bolsover, Ont., has been left divided after Parks Canada decided not to rebuild the Boundary Road swing bridge — four years after reconstruction was initially halted.

Constructed in 1902 and designated a Trent-Severn Waterway National Historic Site, the swing bridge near Lock 37 of the Trent-Severn Waterway in the City of Kawartha Lakes was closed and removed in January 2021. Inspections determined a full replacement of the steel structure was required.

Its removal divided the village along Simcoe Street.

The bridge replacement project was initially halted after a contractor “failed to finish the bridge within the required timeframe,” according to Parks Canada which manages the site.

Parks Canada says a second construction shutdown in November 2022 was due to “limited response” for contractor bids including one bid that “exceeded available” funding.

Parks Canada declined an interview with Global News but in a statement it outlines why it has decided to not rebuild the bridge and ultimately decommission the site.

“After careful consideration, Parks Canada has made the decision not to rebuild the Boundary Road Swing Bridge that formed part of the Trent-Severn Waterway National Historic Site,” Parks Canada stated.

“This decision comes after the project experienced ongoing difficulties securing qualified contractors and significant cost increases, which then led to an extensive review that considered public safety, community and municipal considerations, heritage value, visitor experience, and prudent use of taxpayer dollars.”

Multiple residents have been left baffled by the decision. Resident June Wilson told Global News last fall she believed construction delays impacted the response time for paramedics after her husband suffered a heart attack and died.

It was a sentiment echoed by Jeannette Ogilvie when informed on Wednesday of Parks Canada’s decision. “The bridge today has really become a concern for me because of number one, the ambulances’ respond time,” she said. “There is not only myself but a lot of other older citizens on our road.”

Parks Canada says communicated with municipalities about community needs, in particular emergency services.

“While Parks Canada understands the absence of the bridge results in a loss of convenience for local residents through the removal of a canal crossing, there are two other bridges crossing the canal in the immediate vicinity both of which are within three kilometres,” Parks Canada stated.

Resident Robert Amour, who has long advocated for the bridge repairs to be completed, says Parks Canada has failed the community.

“This is destruction,” he said. “This is destruction of a heritage asset and nobody is speaking up. We are just a small community we are powerless and this is just one park here of hundreds, maybe thousands of parks right across Canada. There needs to be a public inquiry.”

Local political leaders, including Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock Conservative MP Jamie Schmale say Parks Canada wasn’t clear on the project.

“This in their own words was a bridge of ‘historical significance’ and really links the community on both sides,” he said. “And I think this decision was made in haste for the fact they have been working on it for a number of years and they can’t seem to get this process right.”

City of Kawartha Lakes Ward 1 councillor Emmett Yeo questions the timing of the decommission decision given the project had been halted for four years.

“Our question now is ‘What’s changed over the last year that would warrant such a life-changing decision to abandon these folks who have relied on this bridge for their public safety, dramatically affecting response times for emergency services, and eliminating an access point that has been there as long as any of them have owned their properties?'”

Parks Canada says it will be taking steps to decommission the site permanently and ensure it is left safe.

“Parks Canada also continues to collaborate with local municipalities and has contacted Canada Post to mitigate local impacts of not replacing the bridge,” a stateent reads. “We thank members of the surrounding communities for their patience and understanding.”

— with files from Tricia Mason/Global News Peterborough