CN submits revised offer to Thunder Bay for reopening bridge

Thunder Bay's city manager says CN has submitted a revisedoffer for reopening the James Street swing bridge, but details still have to be presented to city council.

The bridge over the Kaministiquia River links the city and Fort William First Nation. It has been closed to vehicles but open to CN trains since a fire in October, 2013.

City Manager Tim Commisso said Wednesday thatCN'slatest proposal is based on a model the railway presented last year, under which the company would share its rail deck with vehicular traffic. Signal lights would control the alternating flow of traffic in each direction.

"The model, the solution, is not different, it's just the conditions of the specific elements of it...costing, liability, timing, ultimate responsibility, maintenance, etc., all of those pieces."

Commissosaid the city's lawyer is still studying the proposal, whichwill be discussed with councillors on January 19th.

He declined in an interview with CBC Newsto revealwhat the cost implications, if any, might be for the city, but stressed that the city will need to ensure its concerns about liability are addressed.

Last year CNsaid the cost of opening the rail deck to vehicles would be "largely funded"by the railway, with the balance covered by the federal government. However,the company also asked that the city sign a new agreement to replace the 1906 agreement for the operation of the bridge.

Mayor Keith Hobbs said at the time that he was concerned about the possibility of what he called "traffic nightmares" on a one-way bridge, adding that the planwould also require road alignments to be fixed.

In December, the Mayor revealed that CN had refused the city's request to allow its own engineering staff to inspect the damage on the bridge, calling the railway's position "suspicious." Hobbs also suggested it might be time for the city to take legal action against the railway.

A spokesperson for CN could not be reached on Wednesday for comment on this story.