Kensington snowmobile group wants damaged bridge repaired, reopened

The Kensington & Area SnowmobileAssociation wants the government to repair and reopen Gunn's Bridge on Route 240 outside Stanley Bridge, P.E.I.

The bridge was severely damaged after post-tropical storm Dorian and the province said it needs to be replaced.

During the summer, the road is open to all vehiculartraffic but, during the winter it's not maintained and is closed by the province. Snowmobiles use it as part of the P.E.I. Snowmobile Association's trail system.

The bridge is located just offTrout River Road. Itserves as a main access point for snowmobilers to get to the Rustico area, said Russell Jollimore, president of the Kensington & Area Snowmobile Association.

"There's three restaurants, two fuel stations and a couple of coffee shops and it's a great destination for snowmobilers and families," said Jollimore.

"That is the highest traffic travelled area on our system because of its destination points."

After Dorian, the government closedthe bridge until the required work could be completed, erecting barricades to keep traffic off it.

Jollimore said he heard from government that the bridge would be fixed in time for thesnowmobiling season, butthat didn't happen.

Jollimore said that promptedsome members of the club to make some repairs themselves.

"The club felt compelled to fix it because ... if it was left the way it was,we run the risk of a snowmobile getting jammed in between the approach and the actual bridge itself and there being an issue," he said.

"So we took it upon ourselves to fix the upcoming approach."

Members of the club put gravel in between the ramp to the bridge and the bridge itself, levelling it out so snowmobiles could pass over it. Members of the clubthen removed the original barriers on the bridge, opening it up to snowmobile traffic, said Jollimore.

No provincial approval

That didn't sit well with the province.

StephenYeo, chief engineer for the department of transportation, saidthe damage to thebridge was extensive. He said it needs to be completely replaced.

"We had an inspector look underneath the bridge and it's damaged to the point where it's unsafe," he said. "It's not sitting on the abutment like it should be. And there's a problem with the centre piers as well. So, it's not weight restricted, it's closed."

Yeo said the department needs to approve any work that's carried outon a provincial highway, and the snowmobiling club didn't get it.

A spokesperson for the department of transportation said in an email that penalties for conducting unauthorized work on infrastructure are decided on a case by case basis and the government is not interested in pursuing any penalties in this case.

"I was concerned with the safety of who had done it, going out there and doing this type of work on a bridge that's not structurally sound and could fail," said Yeo.

Yeo said the province has replaced the barriersand added more that are harder to move to keep people from using the bridge.

"That's how it stands right now, it's closed."

Future plans

Yeosaid the province plans to have a new bridge in place by the end of June.

In the interim, hesaid the department is working to accommodate the snowmobilers.

"We're trying to make some changes in there that will allow a single snowmobile to pass over some sort of temporary structure," he said."And we'retrying to makearrangements for the groomer that does work as well."

Yeo said he expects to have an update on the status of those structures in the coming days.

"I guess we'll be thankful with whatever we get for the season," said Jollimore."I wish it would've been dealt with sooner, in a more timely manner."

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