BROOK VILLAGE: Frizzles Bridge is now open, and community members are quite pleased by how quickly workers with the Department of Transportation and Active Transit (DTAT) got the job done.
“We were really pleased as a community,” said Sherryl Harrison, who lives in the area. “That’s a very busy road, and the department of transportation acknowledged that.
“When we were first notified, it was a shock to everyone. We met with the department of transportation, and they listened and they answered our questions. They made improvements to the detours right away, took our feedback, and they exceeded our expectations.
“Having it done in three weeks exceeded our hopes.”
Originally, the DTAT timeline called for six to eight weeks of repairs before the bridge was once again open. Complicating matters was that, originally, the plan was to leave the bridge open to one lane of traffic. That plan was changed when closer inspection revealed more elaborate repairs were needed.
Repairs began on July 21. That work include replacement of the deck, girders and rails, along with a great deal of concrete work.
The bridge is on Route 252, a 30-kilometre road connecting Route 19 and Highway 105.
Upset with the closure, community members requested a meeting with DTAT officials. That meeting took place on July 29.
Harrison said that meeting went very well.
“When the closure was first announced, the community had concerns about the notification and communication process, emergency services and the state of the recognized detours,” she stated.
“As you know, the department of transportation, politicians and local councillors were invited to a community meeting. The meeting was organized in hopes of having more transparency and communication. The community wanted to be heard, have our questions answered and to have a clear sightline of the process. Representatives from the department of transportation, Steve MacDonald and Lloyd Hall, delivered. They answered all questions, made improvements to the detours and took our feedback in hopes of improving the process for future projects, recognizing the importance of community engagement.”
MacDonald is the DTIR area manager, and Hall is an engineer. Harrison also commended DTAT district director Jamie Chisholm for his efforts.
“The measure of a successful consultation should not be how many residents are engaged, but what government and residents learned from the process,” Harrison said. “Open government is supposed to be a two-way street – not just about treating people as consumers but also as contributors to better decisions and design of public policy. To get better outcomes, we need to change the way we look at these opportunities.
“Frizzle’s Bridge is a successful example.”
As a show of appreciation to the DTAT workers who fixed the bridge, Harrison and community members held a lunch for the crews on August 11. It was a bigger-than-average feed, as the DTAT had two of Cape Breton’s three bridge repair crews working on the structure.
The lunch was coupled with a blessing of the bridge by local priest Bernie MacDonald.
“Father Bernie wanted to do a bridge blessing to calm the waters a bit,” Harrison said.
“We thought it was a great idea, and we thought it would be an opportunity to offer a small gesture for the work crews — give them lunch. We were so appreciative that they took time away from their families to work over time, weekends, and we wanted to recognize that.”
Construction ended on Aug. 10.