Residents in Cherryvale, a small community just west of Moncton on the Canaan River, gathered Friday to complain the New Brunswick government has left them stranded by temporarily closing the only bridge they have over the local river.
“I figure the government has forgotten us and I just hope they’re happy and can sleep at night because most nights we can’t,” said Mildred Paterson, a long-time area resident.
Many area residents say they’ve been left nearly stranded after the Clark Bridge had to be closed last weekend. Heavy rain and wind caused the river to jam up and flood over the bridge.
The bridge was closed for safety reasons. The only way in and out of the community now is Salem Road, which residents say is prone to flooding. The predicament has left some Queens County residents fuming.
“We feel very abandoned, we feel alone, we feel forgotten in here and we need the right person to get a hold of this information to listen to us and realize we need a way out and Salem Road is not doing it for us,” said Donna Black, a resident living near the Canaan River.
Cherryvale used to have two crossings over the river. The first one was washed out in the spring of 2014, and it has never been replaced. The second one was the Clark Bridge, which closed last weekend.
With growing concerns about what would happen if there were an emergency, these residents are calling on the province to install a second, new bridge.
“They should have a bridge in there. They’ve had one in there for as long as I can remember, so we should still have a bridge in there,” said Joe Black, a local farmer in the area.
Residents have asked for a meeting with the minister of transportation and are still waiting to hear back.
Meantime, the province says engineers are inspecting the bridge, and when it’s safe, it’ll reopen.
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