AMHERST, N.S. – While all is quiet right now, Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal Minister Lloyd Hines is committed to having a replacement for the Rainbow Bridge in Nappan in place possibly the end of 2019.
Responding to community concerns about the status of the bridge project, Hines told the Amherst News on Nov 21 that the bridge is a high priority to his department. However, he said there is a process to go through and it can’t be rushed.
“We can’t do anything about rumours, but the fact is, as I told Tory Rushton in the legislature, the project is this year’s capital plan to be done in the 2020 fiscal year,” Hines said. “
The bridge over the Nappan River, connecting Amherst to Springhill, was closed amid structural concerns last December. The former bridge and its abutments were removed this past summer to get the project ready for a tender call.
“We’re aiming to have the tender to either design and build or build the bridge ready to go out before the end of the first quarter of 2019,” Hines said. “That’s before the budget year-end and the end of winter, but I’m pushing to get it out earlier, if that’s at all possible.”
The bridge is a priority, Hines said, but it’s among 4,200 bridges and structures managed by the department. He said there are constant maintenance demands for those pieces of infrastructure. The Rainbow Bridge was an unexpected and unbudgeted development.
With the bridge’s closure, motorists have been forced to detour via the Porter Road to the Gould Road or on the Smith Road to the Southampton Road to Nash’s Corner at Highway 242 before getting back on Highway 2 on the south side of the barricade.
Heavy traffic has forced the department to make repairs to the Porter Road on several occasions and it is continuing to urge motorists to use the Smith Road instead, even though it adds several kilometres to get around the detour.
Hines said once the tender is awarded, he expects activity to begin in the spring with construction to take place through the summer and fall of 2019. His hope is to have it completed by the end of the year, but he said it’s possible it could be early in 2020 before it’s open to traffic.
“I’d like to see it completed by the end of December of next year, but that’s a long way away and it depends on the tender,” Hines said. “At least once we have the tender awarded and work has become it will put an end to the speculation about whether or not it’s going to replaced.”
Rushton, as the Cumberland South MLA, has questioned the minister about the bridge’s construction schedule.
“During the last week of the legislature I questioned him about why things haven’t progressed and he couldn’t answer why nothing has been done with 2018-19 construction,” Rushton said. “I'm disappointed that to me it seems to have fallen behind schedule and with 2019 just around the corner I would hope the minister follows through with that commitment for a tender call as soon as possible. This is an important piece of infrastructure for Cumberland County. If nothing is done soon we could still be in the same situation next spring – waiting for the province to call the tender.”
Rushton said both he and Cumberland North MLA Elizabeth Smith-McCrossin will continue to pressure the province on the issue and he wants to see construction begin in the spring.
Twitter: @ADNdarrell
