People in the village of Cap-Pelé, New Brunswick, say the province isn’t moving fast enough to repair and reopen the Kouchibouguac River Bridge which is posing as a safety hazard and impacting businesses in the community.
Christine Duguay is the owner of the Esso gas station in Cape-Pele. She said so far she has lost at least 25 per cent of her business since the province shut down the bridge during post-tropical storm Dorian on Sept. 7.
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“We don’t have the traffic anymore. Traffic is not going by from Barachois and Shediac usually they take the scenic route,” said Duguay.
The bridge spans Route 133 which is a main artery that links the communities of Shediac and Cap-Pelé.
Duguay says that the winds and storm surge from the storm also destroyed a private wharf next to the bridge.
Seven weeks later and she said that she still cannot get any answers from the province as to when the bridge will be repaired.
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“There is a concern not only for the businesses but for the people also because if there is an accident or if there is an emergency. If the ambulance is on the other side of the bridge and he has to come this side there is a problem,” said Duguay.
Detour signage is in place along the route and Jeremy Trevors, a spokesperson for the NB Department of Transportation and Infrastructure, stated in an e-mail that traffic is being re-routed through route 15.
“Associated costs and timelines for restoring damaged infrastructure have yet to be determined. The department is working diligently to determine the next steps and any decisions made will be communicated to the public when appropriate,” stated Trevors.
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Meanwhile, Duguay says people are growing impatient and are holding a public meeting on Nov. 5 to discuss their concerns regarding the bridge closure. She said a letter was written to the Transportation Minister inviting him to the meeting, but he has yet to accept the invite.
Cap-Pelé’s mayor, Serge Leger, said he was contacted by the minister’s office on Tuesday and will be meeting with him and the local MLA on Thursday. He said that will be looking for some answers.
“How is the bridge, why they don’t open it to one lane and limit the traffic to the tractor trailers?” he added. “We are looking to different options like give us something anyway.”
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