Long wait for Mulgrave bridge repairs causing headaches for businesses, residents

The town of Mulgrave, N.S., is facing economic uncertainty because of the state of a small bridge that's in dire need of replacement.

Tanya Snow, the town's deputy mayor, said the Wild Bridge has been on the province's replacement list for about five years.

This year, the province put a sign on it lowering its maximum weight restrictions, effectively stopping large commercial trucks from using the bridge.

Snow said the town and Lloyd Hines, the province's minister of transportation and infrastructure renewal, agreed to divert traffic through Route 16 and Route 344 along the shore to reduce truck traffic through residential areas.

'That will bankrupt us'

But two large commercial businesses that used the bridge daily objected to the lengthy detour and told Snow they're prepared to move their business to Sydney.

"For us, that's just devastation," said Snow. "That will bankrupt us."

She said the town had no choice but to let the trucks drive through its residential areas — but that also comes at a big cost.

Mulgrave just spent about $360,000, borrowed against its tax credits for the next few years, to repair those roads for residential use.

"Our roads were in such a state of disrepair that people were damaging their vehicles and people were just avoiding driving from Mulgrave, period," she said.

Temporary bridge in the works

Steve Warburton, a spokesperson for the Transportation Department, said in an email Friday the bridge is on a priority list and staff are working on plans to build a temporary bridge as a detour.

Designs are being finalized so that an estimate can be prepared for a tender, he said. The hope is to have a clearer timeline in the coming weeks.

The temporary bridge will stay in place until a new bridge is constructed, which is expected to be in about two years.