A lone bridge that connects the lakeside community of North Hatley in Quebec’s Eastern Townships is set to be dismantled on Monday, in effect cutting the town in two.
The bridge is almost 75 years old. It’s in bad shape, and fixing the existing bridge wasn’t an option, the town’s mayor says.
“Everything from the foundation up had to be replaced,” Michael Page said. “They could not just patch it. It was like the Champlain Bridge, it had to be replaced.”
Page says Quebec’s Transport Ministry wanted to start the almost $5-million job in June. But the town managed to convince the MTQ to push the work to start Aug. 3, to allow North Hatley to enjoy some semblance of a tourist season.
Although the population of the village is only 800 people, thousands visit the village throughout the summer.
The closure of the bridge cuts off the grocery store and post office from half the village, and the garage, gas station and bakery from the other half. The detour to access the town is almost 20 kilometres along Highways 108 and 143.
The MTQ has extended a local footbridge, so pedestrians can cross the Massawippi River during construction. But locals are dreading the inconvenience.
“It’s awful, it’s awful,” said Diane Burns, who grew up in North Hatley. “It’s cutting the town in half.”
“I am going to have to really rethink every time I want to do something,” said longtime resident Ann Macaulay. “I am lucky, the grocery store is on my side. My friends, though, are on the other side.”
The owners of the village’s only grocery store, LeBarons, have bought a wagon, to help cart groceries across the footbridge for locals. There are many elderly residents who worry about how they will get their food. Magog, Lennoxville and Ayer’s Cliff are options, but they are all a 20-minute drive away.
“I will probably stop going to the grocery store most of the time,” said resident John Oldland. “I do try and support the local businesses. I will have to park and walk across and carry all the bags. It will be very inconvenient.”
Boating is a big part of summering in North Hatley. Many locals own boats, and the local marina owns 50 boats it rents out. For the first week or two of construction, boats won’t be able to get from the lake to the river to access the marina, or the only gas pump in the area.
After the first few weeks, boats can only access the gas pump three times a day, for 15 minutes at a time.
“It’s really unrealistic. It’s not possible,” said Stephen Piercy, the owner of the North Hatley Marina. “Now we have customers who want to get their money back. It’s a problem.”
Local businesses also worry about access to services, like the fire station.
“My store is three minutes away from the firehouse now,” said Jacques Campbell, the owner of the boutique Emporium. “But I am probably 15 to 20 minutes (away) after the bridge is closed. I mean, the building can be completely gone (if there’s a fire), so that is a worry.”
The mayor says other, nearby municipalities are on standby and ready to help in the event of a fire.
Despite all the concerns, many in the town accept that the bridge needed replacing.
“There is no good time. We are living in Quebec, in Canada. You can’t start pouring cement in December. We might as well get it done,” Campbell said.
Longtime resident Joey Marosi doesn’t mind walking across the footbridge to access her tennis club.
“Maybe we will all be more fit because we will have to walk to the parking lot from the footbridge,” Marosi said. “Maybe we will have less exhaust and cars in North Hatley.”
The mayor says provisions are being made to help mitigate the inconvenience to residents. Permits will be issued for overnight parking, so residents can leave their cars on the side more convenient to them and walk across.
The new bridge is set to open around Christmas.
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