Frizzle Bridge, Brooke Village; photo courtesy of Brittany MacKinnon
Some residents of Brook Village have organized a public meeting after a bridge on Route 252 was closed without consultation or warning.
The highway is a main artery connecting South-Western Cape Breton to the Eastern side of the island and is a vital link for many people.
Initially Frizzle bridge was slated for repair, but upon further inspection, needed to be replaced entirely.
Carolyn MacDonald, who lives in Brook Village, says there was a “major lack of communication” from the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal. The community wasn’t consulted or officially notified before the bridge closed, she says. Rather, people found out through word of mouth.
Now, MacDonald and several other people who live on the 252 are spreading the word of a public meeting, taking place July 29, that will bring together local politicians, community members, and DOT reps.
“By holding [those in charge] accountable and putting them up there in the spotlight, they have no choice but to own up to dropping the ball on this.”
The closure is having far reaching affects, says MacDonald. Farmers with fields on both sides of the bridge have had to harvest crop early, meaning less yield; transport trucks take longer to arrive with supplies for farmers and local businesses; people travelling to Sydney for regular medical care and people working in neighbouring communities are slowed down by lengthy detours through rough roads. The closure also means volunteer fire services won’t be able to access some of their coverage area, MacDonald says, and would have to rely on other volunteer fire departments in the case of an emergency.
“It seems like that is just a foresight that nobody had,” she says. “Whoever was in charge, they never thought of anything like that.”
MacDonald and several other residents have reached out to the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal. The response has been different each time, she says, with some people being told that extra crews would be working on the bridge to complete work faster, while others were told there would simply be extra people on each crew.
She notes that even before the bridge was closed down, an online map of road closures from the Nova Scotia government showed the bridge was closed, but it was actually still open. The bridge didn’t close for another two days.
MacDonald hopes the meeting will get community members honest and transparent answers, and a firm timeline of how long work will take.
“Hopefully this will change their process and how they go about things and it will save the next rural community from going through the same predicament”
She also hopes the meeting will apply pressure and speed up the process of replacing the bridge.
The meeting is set to take place at 7 p.m. tonight, at the Brook Village Community Centre. Several local politicians will attend, along with representatives from the department of transportation and infrastructure renewal
MacDonald says rural communities deserve the same treatment and consultation as larger communities.
