ATV group 'disappointed' Trans Canada Trail won't help fix Terra Nova Bridge
Newfoundland T'Railway short $45,000 on $650,000 repair job needed since December 2015
With a shortfall in funding jeopardizing essential repairs to the Newfoundland T'Railway's Terra Nova Bridge, a group representing ATVers in the province is urging a national trail organization to step up to the plate.
"We seem to be sometimes the poster child for the Trans Canada Trail, but it seems this time when we needed their help, they just weren't there," said Rick Noseworthy, the president of the Avalon T'Railway Corporation.
The bridge has been out of commission since engineers deemed it unsafe in Dec. 2015, cutting the island-spanning trail system in two.
$605,000 of the needed $650,000 to fix the bridge has been secured, the bulk of which is from the provincial government and the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA). But the Newfoundland T'Railway Council, which maintains the trail system and the bridge, has been scrambling to make up the $45,000 shortfall.
"We're almost at the point of collecting beer bottles and recyclables, we're that close," said Noseworthy, who is also the vice-president of the T'Railway Council. He told CBC Radio's Central Morning Show the Trans Canada Trail should be a natural fit to help with funding.
"We've been members with them since 1992," he said. "They take all the benefits of being on this trail, they promote the fact that the trail is complete, and connected, and that's not the case."
ATVs a stumbling block
Since 2009 the Trans Canada Trail has not funded projects that involve ATV use, in keeping with its "greenway" mandate of promoting trails that see non-motorized use during the summer. The national group only funds projects on trails that see motorized use if it involves a "pinch point" — where motorized and non-motorized trail sections converge.
"The Terra Nova Bridge would be the perfect example of a pinch point, because theres no other way around it," said Noseworthy.
It seems this time when we needed their help, they just weren't there.- Rick Noseworthy
He said when the T'Railway brought up that fact with the Trans Canada Trail, they were told money was needed in other parts of the country, although Noseworthy holds out hope that some sort of funding partnership might still be a possibility.
"You always have to be optimistic, but I'm also disappointed."
In the meantime, Noseworthy said communities along the T'Railway are losing out on ATV traffic because of the broken bridge.
"It brings activity into small communities, it's a great economic driver," he said.
"There's a saying an ATVer travels with his wallet. and when they can't get across the island, they're just not coming."
With files from the Central Morning Show.