New route needed before bridge closure, advocates say

Consultant's report, DTI say bridge upgrade will be finished before northern route

MLA Sam Johnston says the Centennial Bridge is expected to close later this year, but Department of Transportation and Infrastructure officials say the closure timeline hasn’t been finalized. (FREE PRESS PHOTO)

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MIRAMICHI - Advocates for reviving a long-abandoned highway project say a proposed two-phase version must proceed before the Centennial Bridge closes for deck work, but an engineering report and provincial officials say it’s unlikely.

One of the city’s MLAs also says he’s been told the bridge is supposed to be closed later this year and possibly for the next two construction seasons for the deck to be replaced. However, staff at the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure (DTI) say the exact closure timeline has yet to be determined.

A report from EXP Services commissioned by DTI last year and obtained by the Northumberland Free Press says an alternate route on the Miramichi River’s north side won't be finished before the ongoing Centennial Bridge upgrade is completed.

Les Price and André Hachey, members of the ad hoc group Miramichi Business Leaders for an Alternate Northern Route, said work must start on building the northern route — previously known as the northern bypass — before the bridge is shut down.

Price and Hachey say this will alleviate gridlock on King George Highway and other streets caused by traffic being funnelled onto King George, the only north-side thoroughfare between the Centennial and Miramichi bridges. They’re worried about the potential impacts of that congestion on public safety and the economy across northeastern New Brunswick.

“This will help us mitigate the traffic disaster to get us over that hump where that would be colossal devastation,” said Price, a local developer. “In the long term, it gives us an exit into town that was a contentious issue for years."