Bridge Has Been Removed! One Man's Opinion

By Ben Meisner

My God !  The bridge has been taken out... three weeks after the suggestion was made; the walkway bridge over the side channel of the Nechako has been removed.

Now I’m no expert, but common sense dictated that you don’t keep going down and clearing debris away from a bridge because it is blocking the flow of the river when that bridge is used solely for foot traffic and that foot traffic can’t get to the other side because it is flooded.

Well I see after our editorial yesterday, that the bridge is out. Now the argument that you get is that the side channel which is trying to carve a new route around the ice jam can’t be made larger, it is handling all of the water that it currently can take. No fooling, that’s exactly why you widen the channel, carve a new one by its side and open it to the river at the very least to let the water that is building up near Winton Global to escape.

But then what would I know about the river?  I do know  the river splits into three sections just above Winton Global. When the water is high , about one third flows down the north side of the island on the river (below where they use to have sand blast,) 40% flows over a ridge in the center of the river where the water is shallow and one third flows tight against the bank near the Winton Global offices.

Just below the boat launch is a very low section ,"all " across the river in the fall when the ice jam formed.

The river is trying to work its way along the south bank .

So the river cuts one channel through Cotton Wood Island Park and now recently another smaller channel.  Don’t you think Mother Nature is trying to tell us something?  If you expand the channel the water will miss the entire mouth of the Fraser by flowing along the  south  bank of the Nechako and then under the old railway bridge.

If you travel the area you will see all of the logs and debris in that channel.  To no one’s surprise it is trying to make a new channel into the Fraser. When it does that, it will make its way into the Fraser just below the Yellowhead bridge.  At that point, the Fraser is over 8 meters deep and the Nechako flow  will become no problem as the water will flow under the ice.

Of course, I could be wrong....but what if I am right?

I’m Meisner, and that’s one man’s opinion.

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