Century-old bridge too far gone

A recent interview on CBC-Radio left some area residents wondering when Sangster's Bridge in Falmouth is going to be replaced.

According to Department of Transportation (DOT) bridge engineer Mark Curtis, Sangster's Bridge is scheduled for replacement for the summer/fall season next year. West Hants Councillor Anne MacDonald said that isn't good enough and would like to see the aging single-lane structure replaced with a new, two-lane bridge as soon as possible.

In a recent interview she told The Journal, “I just hope a school bus loaded with kids doesn't go through the bridge before then because it could very easily happen and it bothers me that DOT doesn’t take this more seriously.”

The steel girder bridge was built in 1902 and designed for horse and buggy. Weight restrictions were limited to the number of cattle crossing the bridge at one time.

In 1902, the steel-making process was still comparatively primitive by today's standards and materials made then were not expected by any means to last for over 100 years.

At issue right now is the safety of the old single-lane bridge. Truck drivers are loath to cross it for fear of dropping through and falling about 80 feet into the rocky waters of the Avon River below. But should someone have to go through the bridge and risk certain death before it gets replaced?

Bridge maintenance engineer John Freeman looks after 560 bridges in the Central District of Kings and Hants counties. Freeman agreed Sangster's Bridge was build for horse and buggy and not for today's heavy traffic.

Steve Eiscan also works with DOT as a bridge maintenance engineer and said Sangster's has “certainly passed its anticipated life expectancy,” noting that most bridges constructed today are designed to last between 50 and 75 years and that Sangster's has lasted much longer than expected.

Infrastructure crisis

Eiscan said that DOT reacts to situations that are deemed top priority and must limit what it can do because of budget restrictions. Every year $30 million of taxpayers’ money is spent to repair the province’s 4,200 bridges. If money wasn’t an issue, Eiscan said it would take about $500 million just to bring the current bridges up to today's standards.

The major issues are the lack of capital resources, lack of manpower and the materials to do the work that needs to be done. Politics, Eiscan added, play a large part in where money is allocated and what county gets infrastructure funding and what does not.

Councillor MacDonald represents District 8, where the bridge is located. She said she notified DOT, “out of personal concern about the safety of the bridge and the many people who have to cross the river every day.”

MacDonald said the plan for replacing the structure with another single-lane bridge is unacceptable. MacDonald also noted that traffic volumes have tripled in recent years due to people moving to the area and the fact more vehicles are on the roads than ever before.

Mark Curtis is the Central District bridge engineer responsible for replacing Sangster's Bridge. Curtis said he’s satisfied that insufficient traffic volumes don’t warrant twinning the new structure next year and confirmed the “current focus of DOT is for a single-lane modular structure” to replace the old bridge.

Residents must push politicians at all levels to come up with the extra $2 million necessary to build a new, double-lane structure before next year. Let's hope Sangster's Bridge doesn't collapse while we wait for politicians to decide what to do.