City Council members walk along the footbridge during the grand opening ceremony - 4 Sep 2013 Clifford Skarstedt.

4 September 2013

New Trans-Canada Trail Pedestrian Bridge Praised for Linking East City

Peterborough Ontario - A recently opened pedestrian bridge over the Otonabee River links East City to the downtown, Mayor Daryl Bennett said at the official opening of the $3.73-million structure Wednesday.
 
"It also represents a link that holds this city together," Bennett said.
 
City council scrambled to find money in the city's budget to replace the former bridge when it had to be closed for safety reasons in November 2011.
 
The former walkway had started to shift away from the adjacent, connected railway bridge. The new walkway is connected to the railway bridge piers instead of being directly attached to the bridge deck.
 
The new pedestrian bridge opened on 19 Jul 2013.
 
To build the new structure, workers extended a temporary road into the river to get to the base of the piers. Dams were built around the piers and the water was pumped out from around the piers to allow workers to build the new bases for the walkway.
 
As part of the contract, the municipality is repairing the damage the former walkway did to the CP Railway bridge.
 
The city's new trails are "visionary investments," Peterborough MP Dean Del Mastro said at the official opening.
 
"East and west are united once again by a tremendous piece of infrastructure," he said.
 
The federal government contributed about $1.5 million toward the project through the federal gas tax transfer to the city.
 
"If we want to have an active community, we have to have infrastructure that supports an active community," Del Mastro said.
 
The city used $380,000 from the provincial government's surplus reserve funding for the new bridge.
 
The provincial cabinet approved a new cycling strategy for the province last week, Peterborough MPP and Rural Affairs Minister Jeff Leal said.
 
A 10 percent increase in cycling reduces direct health care costs by $150 million each year, he said praising city council for its "foresight" in supporting trail development.
 
Repair work on the railway bridge should be finished and the temporary roads removed from the river by the end of October, urban design planner Brian Buchardt said.
 
Brendan Wedley

Vancouver Island
British Columbia
Canada