CANSO: Tittle Bridge, the only link from Durrell’s Island to Canso, collapsed on July 7 under the weight of a transport truck and crane as contractors were hauling equipment on site to begin construction on a replacement bridge.
The aging structure, which was built in 1950, was scheduled to be replaced this summer.
“She went down like a ton of bricks,” District 8 Councillor Fin Armsworthy said.
The small island community of Durrell’s Island is home to 11 families and approximately 30 people, and work is already underway to re-establish the link to the island. A temporary causeway should be in place next week.
Although the driver survived the bridge collapse, the incident is under investigation by the Department of Labour and Advanced Education, as well as the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal.
The driver of the truck survived the collapse of the steel truss bridge, but according to a release from the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal (DTIR), was taken to hospital for observation.
The remarkable scene of Tittle Bridge collapsing and plunging into the waters just as a man in a safety vest walked off the bridge was captured and posted to Facebook by a bystander.
Officials with DTIR advise the Canso-Hazel Hill Volunteer Fire Department is providing residents assistance on an emergency basis as they works towards re-establishing permanent access to the island.
Antigonish-based Alva Construction, which was recently awarded the tender, was in the beginning stages of their work when the bridge collapsed as they were trying to transport a Terex HC80 crane to be used during construction of the new bridge.
Vernon Pitts, the warden of the Municipality of the District of Guysborough, said Alva Construction gambled and took a chance in moving the equipment, suggesting Tittle Bridge was never designed to hold that much weight.
The cause of the incident has yet to be determined, and provincial officials remained tight-lipped only adding that both the departments of labour and transportation were investigating the incident.